10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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294 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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303 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
305 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
308 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
309 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
310 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
311 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
312 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
313 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
314 License'' in the Emacs manual.
316 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
317 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
318 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
320 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
321 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
322 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
323 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
331 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
333 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
334 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
336 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
337 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
338 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
339 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
340 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
341 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
342 License'' in the Emacs manual.
344 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
345 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
346 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
348 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
349 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
350 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
351 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
359 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
362 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
363 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
365 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
367 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
368 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
369 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
370 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
371 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
372 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
373 License'' in the Emacs manual.
375 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
376 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
377 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
379 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
380 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
381 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
382 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
391 @top The Gnus Newsreader
395 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
396 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
397 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
400 This manual corresponds to Gnus v5.10.2.
411 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
412 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
414 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
415 being accused of plagiarism:
417 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
418 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
419 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
420 can even read news with it!
422 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
423 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
424 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
425 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
426 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
432 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
433 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
434 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
435 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
436 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
437 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
438 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
439 * Various:: General purpose settings.
440 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
441 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
442 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
443 * Key Index:: Key Index.
445 Other related manuals
447 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
448 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
449 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
450 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
453 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
457 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
458 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
459 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
460 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
461 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
462 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
463 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
464 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
465 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
466 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
467 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
471 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
472 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
473 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
477 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
478 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
479 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
480 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
481 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
482 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
483 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
484 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
485 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
486 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
487 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
488 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
489 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
490 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
491 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
492 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
493 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
497 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
498 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
499 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
503 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
504 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
505 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
506 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
507 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
511 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
512 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
513 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
514 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
515 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
519 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
520 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
521 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
522 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
523 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
524 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
525 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
526 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
527 * Threading:: How threads are made.
528 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
529 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
530 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
531 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
532 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
533 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
534 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
535 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
536 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
537 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
538 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
539 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
540 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
541 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
542 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
543 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
544 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
545 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
546 or reselecting the current group.
547 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
548 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
549 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
550 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
552 Summary Buffer Format
554 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
555 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
556 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
557 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
561 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
562 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
564 Reply, Followup and Post
566 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
567 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
568 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
569 * Canceling and Superseding::
573 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
574 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
575 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
576 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
577 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
578 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
582 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
583 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
585 Customizing Threading
587 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
588 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
589 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
590 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
594 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
595 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
596 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
597 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
598 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
599 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
603 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
604 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
605 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
609 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
610 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
611 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
612 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
613 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
614 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
615 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
616 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
617 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
618 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
619 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
621 Alternative Approaches
623 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
624 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
626 Various Summary Stuff
628 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
629 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
630 * Summary Generation Commands::
631 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
635 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
636 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
637 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
638 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
639 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
643 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
644 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
645 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
646 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
647 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
648 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
649 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
650 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
654 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
655 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
656 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
657 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
658 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
659 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
660 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
661 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
665 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
666 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
667 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
668 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
669 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
670 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
671 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
675 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
676 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
680 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
681 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
682 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
686 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
687 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
688 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
689 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
690 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
691 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
692 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
693 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
694 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
695 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
696 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
697 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
698 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
702 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
703 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
704 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
706 Choosing a Mail Back End
708 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
709 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
710 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
711 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
712 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
713 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
714 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
719 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
720 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
721 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
722 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
723 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
724 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
728 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
729 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
730 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
731 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
732 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
733 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
737 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
738 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
739 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
740 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
741 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
745 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
749 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
750 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
751 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
755 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
756 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
760 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
761 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
762 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
763 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
764 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
765 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
766 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
767 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
768 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
769 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
770 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
771 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
772 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
776 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
777 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
778 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
782 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
783 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
784 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
788 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
789 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
790 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
791 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
792 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
793 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
794 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
795 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
796 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
797 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
798 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
799 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
800 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
801 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
802 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
803 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
804 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
808 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
809 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
810 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
811 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
815 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
816 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
817 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
821 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
822 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
823 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
824 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
825 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
826 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
827 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
828 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
829 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
830 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
831 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
832 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
833 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
834 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
835 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
836 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
837 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
838 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
839 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
843 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
844 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
845 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
846 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
847 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
848 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
849 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
850 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
854 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
855 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
856 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
857 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
858 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
862 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
863 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
864 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
865 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
866 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
867 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
869 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
871 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
873 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
874 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
876 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
878 * ifile spam filtering::
879 * spam-stat spam filtering::
881 * Extending the spam elisp package::
883 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
885 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
886 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
887 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
891 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
892 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
893 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
894 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
895 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
896 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
897 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
898 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
899 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ.
903 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
904 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
905 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
906 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
907 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
908 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
909 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
910 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
911 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
915 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
916 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
917 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
918 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
919 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
920 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
924 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
925 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
926 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
927 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
931 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
932 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
933 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
934 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
935 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
936 * Group Info:: The group info format.
937 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
938 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
939 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
943 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
944 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
945 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
946 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
947 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
948 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
952 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
953 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
957 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
958 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
964 @chapter Starting Gnus
969 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
970 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
973 @findex gnus-other-frame
974 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
975 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
976 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
978 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
979 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
980 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
982 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
983 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
986 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
987 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
988 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
989 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
990 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
991 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
992 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
993 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
994 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
995 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
996 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1000 @node Finding the News
1001 @section Finding the News
1002 @cindex finding news
1004 @vindex gnus-select-method
1006 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1007 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1008 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1009 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1012 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1013 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1016 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1019 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1022 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1025 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1026 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1027 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1029 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1031 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1032 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1033 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1034 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1035 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1036 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1037 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1039 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1040 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1041 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1042 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1044 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1045 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1046 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1047 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1048 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1049 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1050 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1051 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1052 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1055 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1057 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1058 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1059 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1060 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1061 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1062 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1064 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1066 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1067 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1068 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1069 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1070 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1071 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1074 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1075 you would typically set this variable to
1078 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1082 @node The First Time
1083 @section The First Time
1084 @cindex first time usage
1086 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1087 be subscribed by default.
1089 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1090 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1091 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1092 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1095 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1096 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1097 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1099 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1100 help you with most common problems.
1102 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1103 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1107 @node The Server is Down
1108 @section The Server is Down
1109 @cindex server errors
1111 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1112 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1113 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1115 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1116 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1117 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1118 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1119 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1120 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1121 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1123 @findex gnus-no-server
1124 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1126 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1127 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1128 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1129 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1130 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1131 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1132 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1136 @section Slave Gnusae
1139 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1140 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1141 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1142 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1144 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1145 @file{.newsrc} file.
1147 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1148 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1149 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1150 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1151 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1152 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1153 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1156 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1157 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1158 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1159 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1160 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1161 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1162 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1163 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1165 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1166 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1168 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1169 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1170 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1171 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1172 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1174 @node Fetching a Group
1175 @section Fetching a Group
1176 @cindex fetching a group
1178 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1179 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1180 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1181 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1182 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1183 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1189 @cindex subscription
1191 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1192 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1193 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1194 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1195 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1196 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1197 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1198 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1199 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1202 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1203 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1204 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1208 @node Checking New Groups
1209 @subsection Checking New Groups
1211 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1212 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1213 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1214 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1215 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1216 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1217 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1218 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1219 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1220 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1222 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1223 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1224 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1225 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1226 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1227 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1228 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1229 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1230 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1231 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1232 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1234 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1235 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1236 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1237 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1238 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1239 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1242 @node Subscription Methods
1243 @subsection Subscription Methods
1245 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1246 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1247 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1249 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1250 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1252 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1256 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1257 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1258 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1259 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1260 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1262 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1263 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1264 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1265 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1267 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1269 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1271 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1272 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1273 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1274 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1275 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1276 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1277 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1278 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1279 up. Or something like that.
1281 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1282 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1283 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1284 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1285 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1287 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1288 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1289 Kill all new groups.
1291 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1292 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1293 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1294 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1295 topic parameter that looks like
1301 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1304 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1309 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1310 A closely related variable is
1311 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1312 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1313 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1314 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1317 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1318 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1319 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1320 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1323 @node Filtering New Groups
1324 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1326 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1327 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1328 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1331 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1334 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1335 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1336 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1337 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1338 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1339 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1340 subscribing these groups.
1341 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1342 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1344 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1345 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1346 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1347 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1348 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1349 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1350 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1351 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1353 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1354 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1355 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1356 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1357 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1358 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1359 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1360 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1361 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1362 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1365 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1366 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1369 @node Changing Servers
1370 @section Changing Servers
1371 @cindex changing servers
1373 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1374 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1375 very flaky and you want to use another.
1377 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1378 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1382 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1383 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1384 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1385 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1388 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1389 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1390 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1391 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1393 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1394 @findex gnus-change-server
1395 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1396 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1397 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1398 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1399 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1401 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1402 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1403 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1404 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1405 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1407 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1408 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1409 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1410 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1411 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1412 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1414 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1415 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1416 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1417 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1419 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1420 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1421 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1422 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1423 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1424 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1425 cache for all groups).
1429 @section Startup Files
1430 @cindex startup files
1435 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1436 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1438 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1439 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1440 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1441 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1442 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1443 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1444 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1446 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1447 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1448 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1449 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1450 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1451 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1453 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1454 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1455 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1456 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1457 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1458 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1459 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1460 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1461 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1462 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1464 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1465 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1466 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1467 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1468 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1469 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1470 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1471 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1472 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1473 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1474 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1475 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1477 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1478 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1479 @vindex version-control
1480 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1481 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1482 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1483 If you want version control for this file, set
1484 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1485 @code{version-control} variable.
1487 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1488 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1489 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1490 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1491 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1492 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1493 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1494 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1495 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1496 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1499 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1500 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1502 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1503 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1506 @vindex gnus-init-file
1507 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1508 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1509 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1510 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1511 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1512 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1513 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1514 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1515 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1516 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1522 @cindex dribble file
1525 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1526 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1527 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1528 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1529 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1532 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1533 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1536 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1537 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1538 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1540 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1541 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1542 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1543 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1544 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1545 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1547 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1548 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1549 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1552 @node The Active File
1553 @section The Active File
1555 @cindex ignored groups
1557 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1558 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1559 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1561 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1562 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1563 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1564 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1565 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1566 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1567 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1570 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1571 @c if you set it to anything else.
1573 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1575 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1576 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1577 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1579 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1580 you actually subscribe to.
1582 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1583 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1584 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1585 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1587 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1588 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1589 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1590 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1591 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1592 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1594 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1595 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1596 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1599 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1600 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1601 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1602 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1603 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1604 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1606 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1607 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1609 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1610 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1612 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1613 secondary select methods.
1616 @node Startup Variables
1617 @section Startup Variables
1621 @item gnus-load-hook
1622 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1623 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1624 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1625 times you start Gnus.
1627 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1628 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1629 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1631 @item gnus-startup-hook
1632 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1633 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1635 @item gnus-started-hook
1636 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1637 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1640 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1641 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1642 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1643 generating the group buffer.
1645 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1646 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1647 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1648 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1649 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1650 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1651 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1652 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1654 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1655 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1656 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1657 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1658 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1659 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1661 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1662 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1663 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1665 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1666 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1667 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1669 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1670 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1671 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1672 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1678 @chapter Group Buffer
1679 @cindex group buffer
1681 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1683 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1684 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1685 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1686 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1687 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1688 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1689 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1690 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1691 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1692 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1693 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1694 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1695 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1696 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1697 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1698 @c human rights at 9...
1701 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1702 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1703 long as Gnus is active.
1707 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1708 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1709 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1710 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1711 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1712 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1713 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1714 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1720 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1721 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1722 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1723 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1724 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1725 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1726 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1727 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1728 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1729 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1730 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1731 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1732 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1733 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1734 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1735 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1736 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1740 @node Group Buffer Format
1741 @section Group Buffer Format
1744 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1745 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1746 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1750 @node Group Line Specification
1751 @subsection Group Line Specification
1752 @cindex group buffer format
1754 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1755 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1757 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1760 25: news.announce.newusers
1761 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1766 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1767 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1768 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1769 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1771 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1772 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1773 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1774 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1775 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1776 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1778 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1780 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1781 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1782 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1783 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1784 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1786 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1787 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1788 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1790 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1795 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1798 Whether the group is subscribed.
1801 Level of subscribedness.
1804 Number of unread articles.
1807 Number of dormant articles.
1810 Number of ticked articles.
1813 Number of read articles.
1816 Number of unseen articles.
1819 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1820 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1822 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1823 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1824 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1825 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1826 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1827 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1828 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1829 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1832 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1835 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1844 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1845 comment element in the group parameters.
1848 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1849 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1850 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1854 @samp{m} if moderated.
1857 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1863 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1869 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1873 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1876 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1877 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1878 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1879 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1880 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1883 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1885 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1889 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1892 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1896 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1897 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1898 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1899 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1900 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1901 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1906 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1907 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1908 group, or a bogus native group.
1911 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1912 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1913 @cindex group mode line
1915 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1916 The mode line can be changed by setting
1917 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1918 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1922 The native news server.
1924 The native select method.
1928 @node Group Highlighting
1929 @subsection Group Highlighting
1930 @cindex highlighting
1931 @cindex group highlighting
1933 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1934 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1935 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1936 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1937 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1939 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1943 (cond (window-system
1944 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1945 (defface my-group-face-1
1946 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1947 (defface my-group-face-2
1948 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1949 "Second group face")
1950 (defface my-group-face-3
1951 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1952 (defface my-group-face-4
1953 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1954 (defface my-group-face-5
1955 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1957 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1958 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1959 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1960 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1961 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1962 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1965 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1967 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1974 The number of unread articles in the group.
1978 Whether the group is a mail group.
1980 The level of the group.
1982 The score of the group.
1984 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1986 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1987 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1989 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1990 topic being inserted.
1993 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1994 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1995 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1997 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1998 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1999 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2000 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2001 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2004 @node Group Maneuvering
2005 @section Group Maneuvering
2006 @cindex group movement
2008 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2009 expected, hopefully.
2015 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2016 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2017 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2023 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2024 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2025 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2029 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2030 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2034 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2035 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2039 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2040 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2041 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2046 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2047 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2050 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2056 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2057 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2058 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2063 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2064 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2065 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2069 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2070 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2071 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2074 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2075 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2076 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2077 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2081 @node Selecting a Group
2082 @section Selecting a Group
2083 @cindex group selection
2088 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2089 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2090 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2091 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2092 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2093 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2094 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2095 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2096 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2097 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2099 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2100 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2101 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2103 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2104 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2109 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2110 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2111 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2112 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2113 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2117 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2118 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2119 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2120 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2121 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2122 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2123 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2124 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2125 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2126 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2129 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2130 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2131 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2132 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2133 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2136 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2137 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2138 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2139 doing any processing of its contents
2140 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2141 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2142 manner will have no permanent effects.
2146 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2147 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2148 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2149 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2150 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2151 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2152 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2153 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2154 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2155 most recently will be fetched.
2157 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2158 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2159 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2162 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2163 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2164 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2165 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2166 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2167 Which article this is is controlled by the
2168 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2174 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2177 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2180 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2182 @item unseen-or-unread
2183 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2184 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2188 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2192 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2193 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2195 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2196 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2197 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2198 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2202 @node Subscription Commands
2203 @section Subscription Commands
2204 @cindex subscription
2212 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2213 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2214 Toggle subscription to the current group
2215 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2221 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2222 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2223 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2224 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2231 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2232 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2238 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2239 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2242 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2243 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2244 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2245 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2246 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2252 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2253 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2257 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2258 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2261 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2262 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2263 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2264 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2265 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2266 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2267 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2268 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2269 @file{.newsrc} file.
2273 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2283 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2284 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2285 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2286 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2287 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2288 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2293 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2294 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2295 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2299 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2300 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2301 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2303 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2304 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2305 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2306 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2307 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2308 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2315 @section Group Levels
2319 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2320 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2321 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2322 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2323 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2325 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2331 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2332 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2333 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2334 prompted for a level.
2337 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2338 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2339 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2340 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2341 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2342 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2343 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2344 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2345 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2346 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2347 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2348 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2349 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2350 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2351 reasons of efficiency.
2353 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2354 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2356 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2357 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2358 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2359 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2360 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2361 groups are hidden, in a way.
2363 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2364 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2365 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2366 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2367 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2368 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2370 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2371 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2372 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2373 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2374 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2375 list of killed groups.)
2377 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2378 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2379 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2381 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2382 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2383 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2384 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2385 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2386 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2387 relevant valid ranges.
2389 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2390 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2391 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2392 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2393 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2394 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2397 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2398 one with the best level.
2400 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2401 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2402 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2405 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2406 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2407 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2408 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2411 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2412 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2413 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2414 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2416 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2417 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2418 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2419 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2420 to 5. The default is 6.
2424 @section Group Score
2429 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2430 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2431 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2434 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2435 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2436 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2437 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2438 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2439 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2440 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2441 least significant part.))
2443 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2444 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2445 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2446 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2447 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2448 action after each summary exit, you can add
2449 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2450 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2451 slow things down somewhat.
2454 @node Marking Groups
2455 @section Marking Groups
2456 @cindex marking groups
2458 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2459 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2460 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2461 bidding on those groups.
2463 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2464 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2465 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2473 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2474 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2480 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2481 Remove the mark from the current group
2482 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2486 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2487 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2491 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2492 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2497 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2502 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2503 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2506 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2508 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2509 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2510 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2511 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2512 the command to be executed.
2515 @node Foreign Groups
2516 @section Foreign Groups
2517 @cindex foreign groups
2519 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2520 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2521 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2522 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2529 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2530 @cindex making groups
2531 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2532 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2533 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2537 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2538 @cindex renaming groups
2539 Rename the current group to something else
2540 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2541 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2547 @findex gnus-group-customize
2548 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2552 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2553 @cindex renaming groups
2554 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2555 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2559 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2560 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2561 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2565 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2566 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2567 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2571 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2573 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2574 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2579 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2580 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2584 @cindex (ding) archive
2585 @cindex archive group
2586 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2587 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2588 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2589 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2590 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2591 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2592 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2596 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2598 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2599 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2600 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2601 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2605 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2607 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2608 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2609 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2613 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2614 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2616 Make a group based on some file or other
2617 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2618 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2619 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2620 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2621 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2622 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2623 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2624 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2625 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2629 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2630 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2631 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2632 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2636 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2640 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2641 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2642 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2643 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2644 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2645 @xref{Web Searches}.
2647 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2648 to a particular group by using a match string like
2649 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2653 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2654 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2655 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2659 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2660 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2661 This function will delete the current group
2662 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2663 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2664 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2665 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2666 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2670 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2671 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2672 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2676 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2677 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2678 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2681 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2684 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2685 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2686 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2687 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2688 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2689 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2693 @node Group Parameters
2694 @section Group Parameters
2695 @cindex group parameters
2697 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2698 Here's an example group parameter list:
2701 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2705 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2706 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2707 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2708 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2710 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2711 is an alist of regexps and values.
2713 The following group parameters can be used:
2718 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2721 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2724 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2725 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2726 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2727 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2728 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2730 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2731 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2732 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2733 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2734 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2735 list address instead.
2737 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2741 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2744 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2747 It is totally ignored
2748 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2749 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2751 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2752 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2753 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2754 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2755 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2757 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2758 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2759 sending the message.
2761 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2762 @cindex mail list groups
2763 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2764 entering summary buffer.
2766 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2771 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2772 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2773 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2774 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2775 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2776 headers for your posts to these lists. @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing
2777 Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for a complete treatment of
2778 available MFT support.
2780 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2781 directly uses this group parameter.
2785 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2786 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2787 of whether it has any unread articles.
2789 @item broken-reply-to
2790 @cindex broken-reply-to
2791 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2792 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2793 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2794 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2795 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2796 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2800 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2801 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2805 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2806 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2807 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2812 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2813 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2814 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2815 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2816 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2817 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2818 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2820 @strong{Caveat}: It yields an error putting @code{(gcc-self . t)} in
2821 groups of an @code{nntp} server or so, because an @code{nntp} server
2822 doesn't accept articles.
2826 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2827 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2828 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2830 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2833 @cindex total-expire
2834 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2835 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2836 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2837 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2840 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2844 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2845 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2846 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2847 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2848 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2849 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2850 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2853 @cindex expiry-target
2854 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2855 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2858 @cindex score file group parameter
2859 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2860 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2861 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2864 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2865 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2866 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2867 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2870 @cindex admin-address
2871 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2872 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2873 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2874 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2878 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2879 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2883 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2886 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2887 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2890 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2894 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2896 Here are some examples:
2900 Display only unread articles.
2903 Display everything except expirable articles.
2905 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2906 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2910 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2911 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2912 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2913 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2914 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2918 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2919 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2920 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2924 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2925 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2926 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2930 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2931 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2932 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2934 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2936 @item ignored-charsets
2937 @cindex ignored-charset
2938 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2939 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2940 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2942 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2945 @cindex posting-style
2946 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2947 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2948 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2949 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2950 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2952 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2953 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2954 like this in the group parameters:
2959 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2960 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2965 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2966 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2970 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2971 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2972 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2973 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2974 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2978 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2979 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2980 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2981 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2983 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
2984 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2985 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2986 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2989 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2990 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2994 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
2995 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
2997 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2998 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2999 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3000 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3001 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3002 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3003 @code{eval}ed there.
3005 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3006 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3007 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3008 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3009 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3010 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3011 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3012 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3015 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3018 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3019 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3020 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3023 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3026 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3027 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3028 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3029 into the group parameters for the group.
3031 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
3032 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
3033 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
3034 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
3035 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
3039 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3040 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3041 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3042 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3043 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3045 @vindex gnus-parameters
3046 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3047 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3051 (setq gnus-parameters
3053 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3054 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3055 (gnus-summary-line-format
3056 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3060 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3064 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3068 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3071 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3072 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3075 @node Listing Groups
3076 @section Listing Groups
3077 @cindex group listing
3079 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3087 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3088 List all groups that have unread articles
3089 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3090 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3091 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3092 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3099 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3100 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3101 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3102 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3103 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3104 unsubscribed groups).
3108 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3109 List all unread groups on a specific level
3110 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3111 with no unread articles.
3115 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3116 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3117 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3118 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3123 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3124 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3128 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3129 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3130 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3134 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3135 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3139 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3140 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3141 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3142 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3143 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3144 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3145 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3146 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3150 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3151 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3152 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3156 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3157 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3158 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3162 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3163 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3167 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3168 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3172 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3173 List groups limited within the current selection
3174 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3178 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3179 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3183 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3184 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3188 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3189 @cindex visible group parameter
3190 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3191 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3192 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3193 get the same effect.
3195 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3196 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3197 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3198 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3199 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3202 @node Sorting Groups
3203 @section Sorting Groups
3204 @cindex sorting groups
3206 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3207 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3208 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3209 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3210 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3211 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3216 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3217 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3218 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3220 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3221 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3222 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3224 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3225 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3226 Sort by group level.
3228 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3229 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3230 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3232 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3233 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3234 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3235 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3237 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3238 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3239 Sort by number of unread articles.
3241 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3243 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3245 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3246 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3247 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3252 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3253 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3257 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3258 some sorting criteria:
3262 @kindex G S a (Group)
3263 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3264 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3265 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3268 @kindex G S u (Group)
3269 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3270 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3271 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3274 @kindex G S l (Group)
3275 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3276 Sort the group buffer by group level
3277 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3280 @kindex G S v (Group)
3281 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3282 Sort the group buffer by group score
3283 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3286 @kindex G S r (Group)
3287 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3288 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3289 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3292 @kindex G S m (Group)
3293 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3294 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3295 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3298 @kindex G S n (Group)
3299 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3300 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3301 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3305 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3306 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3308 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3309 commands will sort in reverse order.
3311 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3315 @kindex G P a (Group)
3316 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3317 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3318 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3321 @kindex G P u (Group)
3322 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3323 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3324 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3327 @kindex G P l (Group)
3328 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3329 Sort the groups by group level
3330 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3333 @kindex G P v (Group)
3334 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3335 Sort the groups by group score
3336 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3339 @kindex G P r (Group)
3340 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3341 Sort the groups by group rank
3342 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3345 @kindex G P m (Group)
3346 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3347 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3348 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3351 @kindex G P n (Group)
3352 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3353 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3354 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3357 @kindex G P s (Group)
3358 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3359 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3363 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3367 @node Group Maintenance
3368 @section Group Maintenance
3369 @cindex bogus groups
3374 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3375 Find bogus groups and delete them
3376 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3380 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3381 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3382 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3383 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3384 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3388 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3389 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3390 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3391 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3392 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3393 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3396 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3397 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3398 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3399 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3404 @node Browse Foreign Server
3405 @section Browse Foreign Server
3406 @cindex foreign servers
3407 @cindex browsing servers
3412 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3413 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3414 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3415 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3418 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3419 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3420 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3421 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3423 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3428 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3429 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3433 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3434 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3437 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3438 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3439 Enter the current group and display the first article
3440 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3443 @kindex RET (Browse)
3444 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3445 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3449 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3450 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3451 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3457 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3458 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3462 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3463 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3467 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3468 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3469 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3474 @section Exiting Gnus
3475 @cindex exiting Gnus
3477 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3482 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3483 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3484 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3485 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3489 @findex gnus-group-exit
3490 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3491 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3495 @findex gnus-group-quit
3496 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3497 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3500 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3501 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3502 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3503 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3504 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3505 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3511 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3512 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3513 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3519 @section Group Topics
3522 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3523 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3524 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3525 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3526 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3527 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3531 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3532 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3543 2: alt.religion.emacs
3546 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3548 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3549 13: comp.sources.unix
3552 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3554 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3555 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3556 is a toggling command.)
3558 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3559 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3560 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3561 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3564 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3565 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3566 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3569 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3573 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3574 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3575 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3576 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3577 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3581 @node Topic Commands
3582 @subsection Topic Commands
3583 @cindex topic commands
3585 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3586 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3587 definitions slightly.
3589 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3590 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3591 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3592 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3593 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3594 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3596 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3603 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3604 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3605 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3609 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3611 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3612 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3613 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3614 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3617 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3618 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3619 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3620 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3624 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3625 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3626 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3627 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3633 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3634 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3635 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3639 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3640 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3641 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3644 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3645 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3646 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3647 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3648 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3650 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3651 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3655 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3656 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3663 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3665 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3666 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3667 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3668 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3669 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3670 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3674 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3680 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3681 Move the current group to some other topic
3682 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3683 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3687 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3688 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3692 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3693 Copy the current group to some other topic
3694 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3695 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3699 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3700 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3701 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3705 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3706 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3707 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3711 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3712 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3713 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3714 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3715 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3716 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3717 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3720 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3721 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3725 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3726 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3727 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3731 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3732 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3733 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3737 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3738 Toggle hiding empty topics
3739 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3743 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3744 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3745 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3746 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3749 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3750 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3751 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3752 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3753 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3756 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3757 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3758 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3759 expiry process (if any)
3760 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3764 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3765 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3768 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3769 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3770 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3774 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3775 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3779 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3780 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3781 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3784 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3785 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3786 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3790 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3791 @cindex group parameters
3792 @cindex topic parameters
3794 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3795 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3800 @node Topic Variables
3801 @subsection Topic Variables
3802 @cindex topic variables
3804 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3805 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3807 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3808 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3809 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3822 Number of groups in the topic.
3824 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3826 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3829 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3830 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3831 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3834 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3835 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3837 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3838 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3839 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3843 @subsection Topic Sorting
3844 @cindex topic sorting
3846 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3852 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3853 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3854 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3855 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3858 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3859 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3860 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3861 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3864 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3865 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3866 Sort the current topic by group level
3867 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3870 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3871 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3872 Sort the current topic by group score
3873 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3876 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3877 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3878 Sort the current topic by group rank
3879 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3882 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3883 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3884 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3885 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3888 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3889 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3890 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3891 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3894 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3895 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3896 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3897 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3898 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3902 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3903 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3907 @node Topic Topology
3908 @subsection Topic Topology
3909 @cindex topic topology
3912 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3919 2: alt.religion.emacs
3922 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3924 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3925 13: comp.sources.unix
3929 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3930 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3931 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3936 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3937 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3941 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3942 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3943 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3944 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3945 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3946 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3948 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3949 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3950 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3953 @node Topic Parameters
3954 @subsection Topic Parameters
3955 @cindex topic parameters
3957 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3958 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3959 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3961 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3966 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3967 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3968 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3971 @item subscribe-level
3972 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3973 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3974 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3978 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3979 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3980 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3981 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3988 2: alt.religion.emacs
3992 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3994 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3995 13: comp.sources.unix
4000 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4001 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4002 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4003 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4004 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4005 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4007 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4008 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4009 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4010 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4011 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4013 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4014 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4015 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4016 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4017 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4018 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4019 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4020 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4023 @node Misc Group Stuff
4024 @section Misc Group Stuff
4027 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4028 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4029 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4030 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4031 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4038 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4039 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4040 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4044 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4045 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4046 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4047 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4048 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4049 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4050 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4054 @findex gnus-group-mail
4055 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4056 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4057 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4058 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4062 @findex gnus-group-news
4063 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4064 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4065 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4067 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4068 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4069 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4070 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4071 for this to work though.
4075 Variables for the group buffer:
4079 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4080 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4081 is called after the group buffer has been
4084 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4085 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4086 is called after the group buffer is
4087 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4090 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4091 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4092 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4093 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4095 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4096 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4097 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4098 whether they are empty or not.
4100 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4101 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4102 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4103 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4107 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4108 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4111 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4112 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4113 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4114 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4115 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4116 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4117 default is @code{nil}.
4121 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4122 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4127 @node Scanning New Messages
4128 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4129 @cindex new messages
4130 @cindex scanning new news
4136 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4137 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4138 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4139 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4140 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4141 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4146 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4147 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4148 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4149 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4150 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4151 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4152 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4154 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4155 @cindex activating groups
4157 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4158 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4163 @findex gnus-group-restart
4164 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4165 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4166 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4170 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4171 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4173 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4174 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4178 @node Group Information
4179 @subsection Group Information
4180 @cindex group information
4181 @cindex information on groups
4188 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4189 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4192 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4193 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4194 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4195 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4196 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4197 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4198 used for fetching the file.
4200 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4201 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4205 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4206 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4208 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4209 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4212 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4213 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4214 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4218 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4219 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4220 @cindex control message
4221 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4222 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4223 group if given a prefix argument.
4225 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4226 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4227 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4228 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4230 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4231 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4232 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4236 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4238 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4239 @cindex describing groups
4240 @cindex group description
4241 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4242 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4243 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4247 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4248 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4249 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4256 @findex gnus-version
4257 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4261 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4262 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4265 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4268 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4269 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4273 @node Group Timestamp
4274 @subsection Group Timestamp
4276 @cindex group timestamps
4278 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4279 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4280 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4283 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4286 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4288 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4289 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4292 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4293 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4296 This will result in lines looking like:
4299 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4300 0: custom 19961002T012713
4303 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4304 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4308 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4309 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4312 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4313 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4317 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4318 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4319 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4320 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4322 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4328 @subsection File Commands
4329 @cindex file commands
4335 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4336 @vindex gnus-init-file
4337 @cindex reading init file
4338 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4339 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4343 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4344 @cindex saving .newsrc
4345 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4346 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4347 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4350 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4351 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4352 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4357 @node Sieve Commands
4358 @subsection Sieve Commands
4359 @cindex group sieve commands
4361 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4362 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4363 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4364 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4365 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4367 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4368 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4369 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4370 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4371 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4372 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4373 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4374 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4375 regenerate the Sieve script.
4377 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4378 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4379 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4380 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4381 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4382 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4383 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4384 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4385 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4386 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4389 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4390 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4395 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4401 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4402 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4403 @cindex generating sieve script
4404 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4405 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4409 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4410 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4411 @cindex updating sieve script
4412 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4413 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4414 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4419 @node Summary Buffer
4420 @chapter Summary Buffer
4421 @cindex summary buffer
4423 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4424 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4426 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4427 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4429 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4432 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4433 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4434 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4435 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4436 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4437 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4438 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4439 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4440 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4441 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4442 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4443 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4444 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4445 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4446 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4447 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4448 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4449 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4450 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4451 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4452 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4453 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4454 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4455 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4456 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4457 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4458 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4459 or reselecting the current group.
4460 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4461 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4462 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4463 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4467 @node Summary Buffer Format
4468 @section Summary Buffer Format
4469 @cindex summary buffer format
4473 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4474 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4475 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4481 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4482 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4483 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4484 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4487 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4488 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4489 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4490 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4491 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4492 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4493 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4494 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4495 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4496 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4497 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4500 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4501 'mail-extract-address-components)
4504 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4505 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4506 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4507 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4510 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4511 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4513 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4514 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4515 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4516 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4517 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4519 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4520 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4521 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4522 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4523 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4524 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4526 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4528 The following format specification characters and extended format
4529 specification(s) are understood:
4535 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4536 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4538 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4539 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4540 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4542 Full @code{From} header.
4544 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4546 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4549 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4550 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4551 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4552 may be more thorough.
4554 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4557 Number of lines in the article.
4559 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4560 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4562 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4563 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4565 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4567 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4568 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4581 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4582 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4583 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4584 line-drawing glyphs.
4586 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4587 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4588 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4589 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4591 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4592 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4593 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4594 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4596 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4597 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4598 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4599 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4601 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4602 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4603 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4605 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4606 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4607 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4609 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4610 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4611 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4613 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4614 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4615 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4620 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4621 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4623 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4624 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4626 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4627 for adopted articles.
4629 One space for each thread level.
4631 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4633 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4636 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4637 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4638 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4641 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4643 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4644 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4645 default level. If the difference between
4646 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4647 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4655 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4657 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4663 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4664 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4666 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4667 article has any children.
4673 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4674 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4676 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4677 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4678 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4679 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4680 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4681 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4684 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4685 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4686 There can only be one such area.
4688 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4689 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4690 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4691 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4692 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4693 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4695 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4696 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4698 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4701 @node To From Newsgroups
4702 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4706 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4707 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4708 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4709 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4710 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4714 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4715 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4716 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4720 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4721 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4724 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4725 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4728 @findex gnus-extra-header
4729 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4730 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4731 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4734 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4738 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4739 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4740 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4741 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4742 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4743 headers are used instead.
4747 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4748 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4749 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4750 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4751 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4752 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4755 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4756 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4757 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4758 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4760 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4764 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4766 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4767 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4768 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4769 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4773 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4776 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4777 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4780 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4781 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4782 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4788 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4789 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4792 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4793 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4795 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4796 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4797 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4798 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4800 Here are the elements you can play with:
4806 Unprefixed group name.
4808 Current article number.
4810 Current article score.
4814 Number of unread articles in this group.
4816 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4819 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4820 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4821 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4822 and no unselected ones.
4824 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4825 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4827 Subject of the current article.
4829 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4831 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4833 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4835 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4837 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4839 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4843 @node Summary Highlighting
4844 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4848 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4849 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4850 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4851 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4852 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4854 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4855 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4856 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4857 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4859 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4860 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4861 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4862 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4864 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4865 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4866 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4867 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4868 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4869 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4872 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4873 ((> score default) . bold))
4875 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4876 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4880 @node Summary Maneuvering
4881 @section Summary Maneuvering
4882 @cindex summary movement
4884 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4885 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4887 None of these commands select articles.
4892 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4893 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4894 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4895 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4896 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4900 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4901 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4903 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4904 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4907 @kindex G g (Summary)
4908 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4909 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4910 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4913 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4914 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4915 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4916 to the group buffer.
4918 Variables related to summary movement:
4922 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4923 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4924 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4925 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4926 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4927 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4928 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4929 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4930 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4931 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4932 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4933 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4934 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4935 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4937 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4938 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4939 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4940 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4941 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4942 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4943 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4945 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4947 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4948 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4949 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4950 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4951 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4953 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4954 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4955 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4956 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4957 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4958 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4959 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4960 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4963 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4964 the given number of lines from the top.
4969 @node Choosing Articles
4970 @section Choosing Articles
4971 @cindex selecting articles
4974 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4975 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4979 @node Choosing Commands
4980 @subsection Choosing Commands
4982 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4983 and they all select and display an article.
4985 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4986 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4990 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4991 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4992 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4993 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4995 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4996 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4997 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5002 @kindex G n (Summary)
5003 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5004 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5005 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5010 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5011 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5012 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5017 @kindex G N (Summary)
5018 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5019 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5024 @kindex G P (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5026 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5029 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5030 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5031 Go to the next article with the same subject
5032 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5035 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5036 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5037 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5038 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5042 @kindex G f (Summary)
5044 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5045 Go to the first unread article
5046 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5050 @kindex G b (Summary)
5052 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5053 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5054 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5055 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5060 @kindex G l (Summary)
5061 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5062 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5065 @kindex G o (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5068 @cindex article history
5069 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5070 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5071 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5072 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5073 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5074 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5079 @kindex G j (Summary)
5080 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5081 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5082 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5087 @node Choosing Variables
5088 @subsection Choosing Variables
5090 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5093 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5094 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5095 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5096 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5097 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5098 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5100 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5101 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5102 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5103 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5104 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5105 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5107 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5108 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5109 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5110 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5111 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5112 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5113 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5114 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5115 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5116 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5117 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5118 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5119 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5120 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5125 @node Paging the Article
5126 @section Scrolling the Article
5127 @cindex article scrolling
5132 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5133 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5134 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5135 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5136 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5138 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5139 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5140 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5141 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5142 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5143 what is considered uninteresting with
5144 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5145 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5148 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5149 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5150 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5153 @kindex RET (Summary)
5154 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5155 Scroll the current article one line forward
5156 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5159 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5160 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5161 Scroll the current article one line backward
5162 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5166 @kindex A g (Summary)
5168 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5169 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5170 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5171 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5172 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5173 the way it came from the server.
5175 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5176 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5177 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5180 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5185 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5190 @kindex A < (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5192 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5193 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5198 @kindex A > (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5200 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5204 @kindex A s (Summary)
5206 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5207 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5208 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5212 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5213 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5218 @node Reply Followup and Post
5219 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5222 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5223 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5224 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5225 * Canceling and Superseding::
5229 @node Summary Mail Commands
5230 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5232 @cindex composing mail
5234 Commands for composing a mail message:
5240 @kindex S r (Summary)
5242 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5243 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5244 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5245 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5246 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5251 @kindex S R (Summary)
5252 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5253 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5254 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5255 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5256 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5259 @kindex S w (Summary)
5260 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5261 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5262 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5263 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5264 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5265 present, that's used instead.
5268 @kindex S W (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5270 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5271 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5272 the process/prefix convention.
5275 @kindex S v (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5277 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5279 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5280 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5281 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5284 @kindex S V (Summary)
5285 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5286 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5287 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5288 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5291 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5293 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5294 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5295 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5296 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5297 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5298 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5301 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5302 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5303 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5304 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5305 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5309 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5310 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5312 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5313 Forward the current article to some other person
5314 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5315 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5316 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5317 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5318 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5319 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5320 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5321 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5322 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5328 @kindex S m (Summary)
5329 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5330 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5331 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5332 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5333 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5338 @kindex S i (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5340 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5341 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5342 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5344 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5345 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5346 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5347 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5348 for this to work though.
5351 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5353 @cindex bouncing mail
5354 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5355 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5356 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5357 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5358 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5359 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5360 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5361 very well fail, though.
5364 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5365 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5366 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5367 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5368 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5369 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5370 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5371 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5372 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5373 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5375 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5376 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5377 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5378 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5379 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5381 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5382 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5385 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5387 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5388 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5389 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5392 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5393 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5394 @cindex crossposting
5395 @cindex excessive crossposting
5396 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5397 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5399 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5400 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5401 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5402 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5403 command understands the process/prefix convention
5404 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5408 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5409 Manual}, for more information.
5412 @node Summary Post Commands
5413 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5415 @cindex composing news
5417 Commands for posting a news article:
5423 @kindex S p (Summary)
5424 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5425 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5426 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5427 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5428 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5433 @kindex S f (Summary)
5434 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5435 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5436 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5440 @kindex S F (Summary)
5442 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5443 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5444 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5445 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5446 process/prefix convention.
5449 @kindex S n (Summary)
5450 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5451 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5452 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5455 @kindex S N (Summary)
5456 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5457 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5458 message through mail and include the original message
5459 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5460 the process/prefix convention.
5463 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5464 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5465 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5466 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5467 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5468 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5469 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5470 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5471 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5472 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5473 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5474 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5475 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5478 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5479 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5481 @cindex making digests
5482 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5483 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5484 process/prefix convention.
5487 @kindex S u (Summary)
5488 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5489 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5490 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5491 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5494 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5495 Manual}, for more information.
5498 @node Summary Message Commands
5499 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5503 @kindex S y (Summary)
5504 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5505 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5506 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5507 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5508 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5513 @node Canceling and Superseding
5514 @subsection Canceling Articles
5515 @cindex canceling articles
5516 @cindex superseding articles
5518 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5519 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5521 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5523 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5525 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5526 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5527 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5528 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5529 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5530 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5532 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5533 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5536 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5537 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5538 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5540 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5541 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5542 your original article.
5544 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5546 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5547 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5548 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5551 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5552 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5553 have posted almost the same article twice.
5555 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5556 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5557 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5558 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5559 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5560 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5561 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5562 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5563 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5564 canceled/superseded.
5566 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5568 @node Delayed Articles
5569 @section Delayed Articles
5570 @cindex delayed sending
5571 @cindex send delayed
5573 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5574 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5575 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5576 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5579 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5582 @findex gnus-delay-article
5583 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5584 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5585 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5586 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5590 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5591 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5592 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5593 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5596 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5597 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5598 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5601 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5602 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5603 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5604 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5605 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5606 that means a time tomorrow.
5609 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5610 couple of variables:
5613 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5614 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5615 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5616 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5618 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5619 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5620 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5621 formats described above.
5623 @item gnus-delay-group
5624 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5625 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5626 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5627 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5629 @item gnus-delay-header
5630 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5631 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5632 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5633 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5636 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5637 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5638 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5639 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5640 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5642 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5643 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5644 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5645 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5646 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5647 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5648 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5651 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5652 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5653 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5654 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5655 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5656 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5657 argument is ignored.
5659 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5660 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5661 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5665 @node Marking Articles
5666 @section Marking Articles
5667 @cindex article marking
5668 @cindex article ticking
5671 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5673 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5674 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5675 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5677 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5680 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5681 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5682 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5686 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5690 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5691 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5692 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5696 @node Unread Articles
5697 @subsection Unread Articles
5699 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5704 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5705 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5707 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5708 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5709 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5710 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5711 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5712 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5713 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5716 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5717 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5719 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5720 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5721 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5722 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5726 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5727 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5729 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5734 @subsection Read Articles
5735 @cindex expirable mark
5737 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5742 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5743 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5744 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5747 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5748 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5751 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5752 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5753 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5756 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5757 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5760 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5761 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5764 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5765 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5768 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5769 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5772 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5773 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5776 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5777 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5780 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5781 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5785 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5786 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5787 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5791 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5792 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5794 One more special mark, though:
5798 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5799 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5801 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5802 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5803 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5804 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5810 @subsection Other Marks
5811 @cindex process mark
5814 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5820 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5821 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5822 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5823 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5824 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5827 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5828 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5829 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5830 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5833 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5834 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5835 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5838 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5839 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5840 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5843 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5844 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5845 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5846 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5849 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5850 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5851 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5852 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5853 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5854 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5857 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5858 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5859 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5860 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5863 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5864 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5865 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5866 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5867 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5871 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5872 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5873 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5874 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5875 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5876 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5879 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5880 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5881 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5882 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5883 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5884 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5888 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5889 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5890 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5891 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5892 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5895 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5896 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5897 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5898 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5899 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5900 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5904 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5905 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5906 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5908 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5909 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5910 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5914 @subsection Setting Marks
5915 @cindex setting marks
5917 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5922 @kindex M c (Summary)
5923 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5924 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5925 @cindex mark as unread
5926 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5927 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5933 @kindex M t (Summary)
5934 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5935 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5936 @xref{Article Caching}.
5941 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5942 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5943 Mark the current article as dormant
5944 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5948 @kindex M d (Summary)
5950 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5951 Mark the current article as read
5952 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5956 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5957 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5958 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5963 @kindex M k (Summary)
5964 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5965 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5966 and then select the next unread article
5967 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5971 @kindex M K (Summary)
5972 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5973 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5974 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5975 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5978 @kindex M C (Summary)
5979 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5980 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5981 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5984 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5985 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5986 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5987 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5990 @kindex M H (Summary)
5991 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5992 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5993 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5996 @kindex M h (Summary)
5997 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5998 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5999 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6002 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6003 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6004 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6005 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6008 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6009 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6010 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6011 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6015 @kindex M e (Summary)
6017 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6018 Mark the current article as expirable
6019 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6022 @kindex M b (Summary)
6023 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6024 Set a bookmark in the current article
6025 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6028 @kindex M B (Summary)
6029 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6030 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6031 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6034 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6035 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6036 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6037 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6040 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6042 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6043 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6046 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6048 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6049 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6050 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6053 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6054 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6055 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6056 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6057 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6058 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6059 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6060 The default is @code{t}.
6063 @node Generic Marking Commands
6064 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6066 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6067 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6068 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6069 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6070 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6073 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6074 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6077 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6078 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6079 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6080 to list in this manual.
6082 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6083 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6084 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6085 article, you could say something like:
6089 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6090 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6091 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6099 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6100 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6104 @node Setting Process Marks
6105 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6106 @cindex setting process marks
6108 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6109 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6110 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6111 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6112 commands into the cache. For more information,
6113 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6120 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6121 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6122 Mark the current article with the process mark
6123 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6124 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6128 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6129 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6130 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6131 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6134 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6135 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6136 Remove the process mark from all articles
6137 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6140 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6141 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6142 Invert the list of process marked articles
6143 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6146 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6148 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6149 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6152 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6153 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6154 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6155 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6158 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6159 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6160 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6163 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6165 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6168 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6169 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6170 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6171 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6174 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6175 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6176 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6177 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6180 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6182 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6183 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6186 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6187 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6188 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6191 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6192 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6193 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6194 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6197 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6198 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6199 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6202 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6204 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6205 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6208 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6210 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6211 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6214 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6215 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6216 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6217 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6220 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6222 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6223 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6227 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6228 set process marks based on article body contents.
6235 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6236 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6237 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6240 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6241 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6242 additional articles.
6248 @kindex / / (Summary)
6249 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6250 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6251 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6255 @kindex / a (Summary)
6256 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6257 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6258 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6262 @kindex / x (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6264 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6265 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6266 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6271 @kindex / u (Summary)
6273 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6274 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6275 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6276 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6277 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6280 @kindex / m (Summary)
6281 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6282 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6283 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6286 @kindex / t (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6288 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6290 articles younger than that number of days.
6293 @kindex / n (Summary)
6294 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6295 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6296 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6297 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6300 @kindex / w (Summary)
6301 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6302 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6303 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6307 @kindex / . (Summary)
6308 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6309 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6310 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6313 @kindex / v (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6315 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6316 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6319 @kindex / p (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6321 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6322 group parameter predicate
6323 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6324 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6328 @kindex M S (Summary)
6329 @kindex / E (Summary)
6330 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6331 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6332 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6335 @kindex / D (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6337 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6338 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6341 @kindex / * (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6343 Include all cached articles in the limit
6344 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6347 @kindex / d (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6349 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6350 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6353 @kindex / M (Summary)
6354 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6355 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6358 @kindex / T (Summary)
6359 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6360 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6363 @kindex / c (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6365 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6366 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6369 @kindex / C (Summary)
6370 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6371 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6372 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6373 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6376 @kindex / N (Summary)
6377 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6378 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6379 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6382 @kindex / o (Summary)
6383 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6384 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6385 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6393 @cindex article threading
6395 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6396 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6397 hierarchical fashion.
6399 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6400 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6401 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6402 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6403 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6404 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6405 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6407 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6411 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6414 A tree-like article structure.
6417 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6420 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6421 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6422 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6423 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6424 called loose threads.
6426 @item thread gathering
6427 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6429 @item sparse threads
6430 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6431 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6437 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6438 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6442 @node Customizing Threading
6443 @subsection Customizing Threading
6444 @cindex customizing threading
6447 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6448 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6449 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6450 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6455 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6458 @cindex loose threads
6461 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6462 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6463 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6464 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6465 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6466 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6468 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6469 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6470 There are four possible values:
6474 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6475 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6476 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6477 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6478 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6483 @cindex adopting articles
6488 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6489 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6490 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6491 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6494 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6495 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6496 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6497 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6498 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6499 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6500 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6501 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6502 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6503 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6506 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6507 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6508 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6512 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6513 display them after one another.
6516 Don't gather loose threads.
6519 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6520 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6521 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6522 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6523 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6524 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6525 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6526 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6527 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6528 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6529 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6531 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6532 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6533 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6536 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6537 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6538 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6539 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6540 simplification is used.
6542 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6543 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6544 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6545 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6547 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6549 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6555 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6556 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6557 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6558 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6563 (mapconcat 'identity
6564 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6566 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6569 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6572 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6573 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6574 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6575 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6576 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6577 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6579 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6582 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6583 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6584 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6586 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6587 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6590 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6591 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6592 Remove excessive whitespace.
6594 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6595 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6596 Remove all whitespace.
6599 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6602 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6603 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6604 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6605 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6606 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6607 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6608 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6609 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6611 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6612 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6613 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6614 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6615 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6616 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6617 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6618 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6619 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6623 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6624 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6625 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6626 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6628 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6629 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6630 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6633 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6637 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6638 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6644 @node Filling In Threads
6645 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6648 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6649 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6650 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6651 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6652 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6653 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6654 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6655 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6656 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6657 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6658 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6659 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6662 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6663 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6664 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6666 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6667 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6668 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6671 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6672 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6673 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6674 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6675 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6676 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6677 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6678 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6679 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6680 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6681 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6682 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6683 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6684 @code{nil} by default.
6686 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6687 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6688 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6689 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6690 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6691 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6692 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6694 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6695 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6696 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6701 @node More Threading
6702 @subsubsection More Threading
6705 @item gnus-show-threads
6706 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6707 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6708 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6709 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6710 slower and more awkward.
6712 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6713 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6714 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6717 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6718 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6719 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6724 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6725 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6726 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6729 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6730 unread, but you get my drift.)
6733 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6734 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6735 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6736 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6737 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6738 threads are expunged.
6740 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6741 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6742 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6745 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6746 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6747 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6748 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6749 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6750 result in a new thread.
6752 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6753 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6754 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6757 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6758 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6759 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6760 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6761 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6762 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6763 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6764 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6765 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6766 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6767 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6772 @node Low-Level Threading
6773 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6777 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6778 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6779 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6781 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6782 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6783 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6784 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6785 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6786 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6787 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6788 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6789 meaningful. Here's one example:
6792 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6794 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6795 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6797 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6799 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6806 @node Thread Commands
6807 @subsection Thread Commands
6808 @cindex thread commands
6814 @kindex T k (Summary)
6815 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6816 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6817 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6818 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6819 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6824 @kindex T l (Summary)
6825 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6826 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6827 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6828 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6831 @kindex T i (Summary)
6832 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6833 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6834 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6837 @kindex T # (Summary)
6838 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6839 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6840 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6843 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6844 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6845 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6846 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6849 @kindex T T (Summary)
6850 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6851 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6854 @kindex T s (Summary)
6855 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6856 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6857 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6860 @kindex T h (Summary)
6861 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6862 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6865 @kindex T S (Summary)
6866 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6867 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6870 @kindex T H (Summary)
6871 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6872 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6875 @kindex T t (Summary)
6876 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6877 Re-thread the current article's thread
6878 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6879 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6882 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6883 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6884 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6885 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6889 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6890 understand the numeric prefix.
6895 @kindex T n (Summary)
6897 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6899 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6900 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6901 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6904 @kindex T p (Summary)
6906 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6908 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6909 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6910 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6913 @kindex T d (Summary)
6914 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6915 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6918 @kindex T u (Summary)
6919 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6920 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6923 @kindex T o (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6925 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6928 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6929 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6930 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6931 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6932 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6933 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6934 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6935 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6936 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6937 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6938 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6939 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6943 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6944 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6946 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6947 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6948 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6949 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6950 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6951 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6952 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6953 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6954 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
6955 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
6956 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6957 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6958 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6959 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6961 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6962 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6963 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6964 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6965 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6966 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6967 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6968 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6970 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6971 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6972 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6974 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6975 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6976 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6977 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6978 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6979 ascending article order.
6981 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6982 by number, you could do something like:
6985 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6986 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6987 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6988 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6991 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6992 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6993 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6994 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6995 which the articles arrived.
6997 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7001 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7003 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7004 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7007 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7008 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7009 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7010 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7013 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7014 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7015 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7016 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7017 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7018 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7019 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7020 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7021 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7022 variable. It is very similar to the
7023 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7024 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7025 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7026 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7027 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7028 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7029 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7031 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7035 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7036 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7037 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7042 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7043 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7044 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7045 @cindex article pre-fetch
7048 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7049 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7050 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7051 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7052 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7054 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7055 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7057 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7058 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7059 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7060 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7061 connection is blocked.
7063 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7064 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7065 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7066 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7068 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7069 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7070 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7071 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7074 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7077 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7078 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7079 happen automatically.
7081 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7082 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7083 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7084 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7085 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7086 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7087 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7089 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7090 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7091 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7092 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7093 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7094 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7095 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7096 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7097 article data structure as the only parameter.
7099 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7100 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7103 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7104 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7105 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7106 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7109 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7112 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7113 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7114 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7116 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7117 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7118 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7119 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7123 Remove articles when they are read.
7126 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7129 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7131 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7132 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7133 @c from the next group.
7136 @node Article Caching
7137 @section Article Caching
7138 @cindex article caching
7141 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7142 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7143 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7144 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7145 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7147 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7149 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7150 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7151 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7152 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7153 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7154 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7155 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7156 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7158 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7159 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7160 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7161 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7162 as dormant, and don't worry.
7164 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7166 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7167 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7168 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7169 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7170 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7171 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7172 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7173 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7174 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7175 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7177 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7178 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7179 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7180 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7181 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7182 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7183 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7184 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7185 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7186 not then be downloaded by this command.
7188 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7189 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7190 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7191 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7192 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7193 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7195 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7196 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7197 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7198 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7199 variables, the group is not cached.
7201 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7202 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7203 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7204 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7205 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7206 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7207 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7208 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7209 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7212 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7213 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7214 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7215 where, isn't that cool?
7217 @node Persistent Articles
7218 @section Persistent Articles
7219 @cindex persistent articles
7221 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7222 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7223 useful in my opinion.
7225 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7226 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7227 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7228 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7229 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7230 the expiry going on at the news server.
7232 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7233 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7234 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7240 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7241 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7244 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7245 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7246 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7247 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7251 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7253 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7254 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7255 interested in persistent articles:
7258 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7262 @node Article Backlog
7263 @section Article Backlog
7265 @cindex article backlog
7267 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7268 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7269 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7270 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7271 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7272 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7273 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7274 increase memory usage some.
7276 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7277 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7278 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7279 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7280 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7281 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7282 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7284 The default value is 20.
7287 @node Saving Articles
7288 @section Saving Articles
7289 @cindex saving articles
7291 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7292 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7293 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7294 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7295 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7297 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7298 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7299 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7301 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7302 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7303 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7305 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7306 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7307 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7308 deleted before saving.
7314 @kindex O o (Summary)
7316 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7317 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7318 Save the current article using the default article saver
7319 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7322 @kindex O m (Summary)
7323 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7324 Save the current article in mail format
7325 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7328 @kindex O r (Summary)
7329 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7330 Save the current article in Rmail format
7331 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7334 @kindex O f (Summary)
7335 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7336 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7337 Save the current article in plain file format
7338 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7341 @kindex O F (Summary)
7342 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7343 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7344 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7347 @kindex O b (Summary)
7348 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7349 Save the current article body in plain file format
7350 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7353 @kindex O h (Summary)
7354 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7355 Save the current article in mh folder format
7356 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7359 @kindex O v (Summary)
7360 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7361 Save the current article in a VM folder
7362 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7366 @kindex O p (Summary)
7368 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7369 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7370 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7371 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7372 complete headers in the piped output.
7375 @kindex O P (Summary)
7376 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7377 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7378 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7379 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7380 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7381 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7382 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7386 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7387 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7388 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7389 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7390 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7391 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7392 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7393 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7394 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7395 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7396 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7397 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7401 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7402 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7403 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7404 functions below, or you can create your own.
7408 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7409 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7410 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7411 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7412 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7413 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7414 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7416 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7417 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7418 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7419 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7420 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7421 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7423 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7424 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7425 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7426 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7427 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7428 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7429 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7431 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7432 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7433 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7434 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7435 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7436 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7438 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7439 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7440 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7441 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7442 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7444 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7445 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7446 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7447 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7448 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7451 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7452 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7453 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7454 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7455 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7457 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7458 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7459 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7460 reader to use this setting.
7463 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7464 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7465 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7466 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7469 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7470 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7471 available functions that generate names:
7475 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7476 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7477 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7479 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7480 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7481 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7483 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7484 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7485 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7487 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7488 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7489 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7491 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7492 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7493 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7496 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7497 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7498 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7499 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7500 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7504 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7505 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7506 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7507 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7510 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7511 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7512 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7513 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7514 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7515 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7516 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7517 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7518 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7520 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7521 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7522 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7523 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7525 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7526 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7527 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7530 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7531 lots of mail groups called things like
7532 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7533 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7534 following will do just that:
7537 (defun my-save-name (group)
7538 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7539 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7541 (setq gnus-split-methods
7542 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7547 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7548 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7549 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7550 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7551 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7552 all the files in the top level directory
7553 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7554 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7555 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7556 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7558 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7559 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7560 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7561 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7562 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7565 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7569 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7570 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7571 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7574 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7575 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7576 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7577 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7580 @node Decoding Articles
7581 @section Decoding Articles
7582 @cindex decoding articles
7584 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7585 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7588 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7589 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7590 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7591 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7592 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7593 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7597 @cindex article series
7598 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7599 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7600 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7601 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7602 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7604 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7605 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7606 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7608 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7609 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7610 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7612 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7613 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7614 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7617 @node Uuencoded Articles
7618 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7620 @cindex uuencoded articles
7625 @kindex X u (Summary)
7626 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7627 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7628 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7631 @kindex X U (Summary)
7632 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7633 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7634 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7637 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7638 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7639 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7642 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7643 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7644 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7645 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7649 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7650 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7651 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7652 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7653 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7655 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7656 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7657 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7658 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7661 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7662 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7663 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7664 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7665 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7666 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7670 @node Shell Archives
7671 @subsection Shell Archives
7673 @cindex shell archives
7674 @cindex shared articles
7676 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7677 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7678 some commands to deal with these:
7683 @kindex X s (Summary)
7684 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7685 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7688 @kindex X S (Summary)
7689 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7690 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7693 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7694 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7695 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7698 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7699 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7700 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7701 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7705 @node PostScript Files
7706 @subsection PostScript Files
7712 @kindex X p (Summary)
7713 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7714 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7717 @kindex X P (Summary)
7718 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7719 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7720 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7723 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7724 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7725 View the current PostScript series
7726 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7729 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7730 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7731 View and save the current PostScript series
7732 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7737 @subsection Other Files
7741 @kindex X o (Summary)
7742 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7743 Save the current series
7744 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7747 @kindex X b (Summary)
7748 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7749 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7750 doesn't really work yet.
7754 @node Decoding Variables
7755 @subsection Decoding Variables
7757 Adjective, not verb.
7760 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7761 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7762 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7766 @node Rule Variables
7767 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7768 @cindex rule variables
7770 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7771 variables are of the form
7774 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7781 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7782 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7784 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7785 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7788 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7789 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7792 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7793 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7794 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7795 user and default view rules.
7797 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7798 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7799 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7804 @node Other Decode Variables
7805 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7808 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7810 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7811 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7812 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7813 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7814 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7818 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7819 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7822 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7823 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7824 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7827 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7828 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7829 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7830 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7831 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7834 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7835 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7836 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7838 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7839 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7840 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7841 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7842 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7845 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7846 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7847 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7849 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7850 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7851 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7852 looking for files to display.
7854 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7855 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7856 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7859 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7860 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7861 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7864 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7865 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7866 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7869 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7870 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7871 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7874 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7875 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7876 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7877 decoded articles as unread.
7879 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7880 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7881 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7882 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7884 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7885 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7886 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7888 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7889 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7891 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7892 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7893 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7894 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7896 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7897 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7898 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7899 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7900 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7901 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7902 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7903 simply dropped them.
7908 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7909 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7913 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7914 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7915 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7916 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7917 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7918 for you when you post the article.
7920 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7921 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7922 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7923 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7925 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7926 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7927 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7928 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7929 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7930 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7931 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7933 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7934 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7935 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7936 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7937 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7938 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7939 Default is @code{t}.
7945 @subsection Viewing Files
7946 @cindex viewing files
7947 @cindex pseudo-articles
7949 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7950 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7951 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7952 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7953 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7954 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7955 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7957 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7958 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7959 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7960 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7962 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7963 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7964 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7966 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7967 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7968 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7969 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7970 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7972 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7973 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7974 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7975 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7976 a list of parameters to that command.
7978 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7979 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7980 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7982 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7983 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7984 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7987 @node Article Treatment
7988 @section Article Treatment
7990 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7991 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7992 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7993 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7994 these articles easier.
7997 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7998 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7999 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8000 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8001 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8002 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8003 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8004 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8005 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8006 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8007 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8011 @node Article Highlighting
8012 @subsection Article Highlighting
8013 @cindex highlighting
8015 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8016 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8021 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8022 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8023 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8024 Do much highlighting of the current article
8025 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8026 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8029 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8030 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8031 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8032 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8033 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8034 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8035 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8036 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8037 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8038 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8039 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8040 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8043 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8044 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8045 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8047 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8050 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8052 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8053 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8054 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8056 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8057 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8058 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8060 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8061 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8062 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8063 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8064 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8065 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8067 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8068 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8069 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8071 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8072 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8073 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8075 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8076 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8077 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8078 that it's a citation.
8080 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8081 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8082 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8084 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8085 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8086 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8088 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8089 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8090 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8091 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8097 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8098 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8099 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8100 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8101 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8102 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8103 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8104 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8109 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8112 @node Article Fontisizing
8113 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8115 @cindex article emphasis
8117 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8118 @kindex W e (Summary)
8119 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8120 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8121 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8122 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8124 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8125 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8126 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8127 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8128 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8129 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8130 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8131 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8135 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8136 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8137 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8146 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8147 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8148 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8149 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8150 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8151 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8152 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8153 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8154 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8155 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8156 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8157 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8158 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8160 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8161 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8162 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8166 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8169 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8171 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8172 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8173 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8174 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8176 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8179 @node Article Hiding
8180 @subsection Article Hiding
8181 @cindex article hiding
8183 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8184 too much cruft in most articles.
8189 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8190 @findex gnus-article-hide
8191 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8192 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8193 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8196 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8197 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8198 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8202 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8203 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8204 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8205 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8208 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8209 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8210 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8214 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8215 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8216 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8217 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8218 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8219 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8220 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8221 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8225 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8226 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8227 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8228 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8233 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8234 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8235 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8236 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8239 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8240 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8241 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8242 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8245 @cindex stripping advertisements
8246 @cindex advertisements
8247 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8248 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8249 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8250 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8251 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8252 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8253 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8254 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8255 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8256 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8259 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8260 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8261 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8265 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8266 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8267 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8268 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8269 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8270 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8271 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8272 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8273 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8274 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8275 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8278 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8279 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8285 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8286 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8287 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8288 customizing the hiding:
8292 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8293 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8294 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8295 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8296 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8297 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8298 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8303 Starting point of the hidden text.
8305 Ending point of the hidden text.
8307 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8309 Number of lines of hidden text.
8312 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8313 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8314 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8315 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8316 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8321 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8322 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8324 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8325 following two variables:
8328 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8329 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8330 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8331 50), hide the cited text.
8333 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8334 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8335 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8340 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8341 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8342 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8343 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8344 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8345 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8349 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8350 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8351 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8353 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8354 citation customization.
8356 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8360 @node Article Washing
8361 @subsection Article Washing
8363 @cindex article washing
8365 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8366 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8368 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8369 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8372 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8373 articles by default.
8378 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8379 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8383 Force redisplaying of the current article
8384 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8385 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8386 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8387 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8390 @kindex W l (Summary)
8391 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8392 Remove page breaks from the current article
8393 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8397 @kindex W r (Summary)
8398 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8399 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8400 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8401 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8402 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8403 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8405 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8406 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8407 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8408 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8411 @kindex W m (Summary)
8412 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8413 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8417 @kindex W t (Summary)
8419 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8420 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8421 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8424 @kindex W v (Summary)
8425 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8426 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8427 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8430 @kindex W o (Summary)
8431 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8432 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8435 @kindex W d (Summary)
8436 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8437 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8439 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8441 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8442 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8443 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8444 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8447 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8448 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8449 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8450 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8453 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8454 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8455 @cindex Outlook Express
8456 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8457 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8458 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8461 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8462 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8463 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8464 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8465 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8466 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8467 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8468 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8469 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8470 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8473 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8474 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8475 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8476 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8479 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8480 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8481 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8482 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8485 @kindex W w (Summary)
8486 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8487 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8489 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8493 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8495 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8498 @kindex W C (Summary)
8499 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8500 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8501 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8504 @kindex W c (Summary)
8505 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8506 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8507 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8508 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8509 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8512 @kindex W q (Summary)
8513 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8514 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8515 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8516 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8517 makes strings like @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which
8518 doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually done
8519 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8520 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8521 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8524 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8525 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8526 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8527 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8528 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8529 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8530 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8531 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8534 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8535 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8536 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8537 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8538 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8541 @kindex W u (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8543 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8544 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8545 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8546 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8549 @kindex W h (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8551 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8552 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8553 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8555 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8557 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8558 The default is to use the function specified by
8559 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8560 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8561 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8562 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8570 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8573 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8576 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8579 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8584 @kindex W b (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8586 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8587 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8590 @kindex W B (Summary)
8591 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8592 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8593 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8596 @kindex W p (Summary)
8597 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8598 Verify a signed control message
8599 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8600 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8601 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8602 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8603 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8604 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8607 @kindex W s (Summary)
8608 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8609 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8610 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8611 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8614 @kindex W a (Summary)
8615 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8616 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8617 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8620 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8621 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8622 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8623 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8626 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8627 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8628 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8629 lines with a single empty line.
8630 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8633 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8634 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8635 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8636 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8639 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8640 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8641 Do all the three commands above
8642 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8645 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8646 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8647 Remove all blank lines
8648 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8651 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8652 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8653 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8654 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8657 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8658 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8659 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8660 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8664 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8667 @node Article Header
8668 @subsection Article Header
8670 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8675 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8676 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8677 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8680 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8681 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8682 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8683 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8686 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8687 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8688 Fold all the message headers
8689 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8692 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8694 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8695 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8700 @node Article Buttons
8701 @subsection Article Buttons
8704 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8705 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8706 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8707 button on these references.
8709 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8710 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8711 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8712 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8713 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8717 @item gnus-button-alist
8718 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8719 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8722 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8728 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8729 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8730 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8731 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8732 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8735 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8736 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8737 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8740 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8741 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8742 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8743 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8744 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8746 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8749 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8752 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8753 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8757 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8760 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8763 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8764 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8765 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8766 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8767 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8770 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8773 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8776 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8779 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8780 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8782 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8784 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8785 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8786 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8787 default values of the variables above.
8789 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8791 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8792 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8793 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8794 argument with a string naming the man page.
8796 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8798 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8799 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8800 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8802 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8803 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8804 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8805 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8806 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8807 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8808 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8809 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8810 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8811 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8812 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8813 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8815 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8816 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8817 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8818 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8819 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8822 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8823 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8824 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8825 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8827 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8829 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8830 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8831 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8832 argument, the string naming the URL.
8835 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8836 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8837 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8841 @item gnus-article-button-face
8842 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8843 Face used on buttons.
8845 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8846 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8847 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8851 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8854 @node Article Button Levels
8855 @subsection Article button levels
8856 @cindex button levels
8857 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8858 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8859 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8860 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8861 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8862 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8863 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8864 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8867 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8868 (setq gnus-parameters
8869 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8870 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8871 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8876 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8877 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8878 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8879 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8880 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8881 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8883 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8884 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8885 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8886 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8887 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8888 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8889 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8890 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8891 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8892 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8893 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8894 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8895 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8897 @item gnus-button-man-level
8898 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8899 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8900 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8902 @item gnus-button-message-level
8903 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8904 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8905 Related variables and functions include
8906 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8907 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8908 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8909 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8911 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8912 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8913 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8914 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8915 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8916 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8917 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8923 @subsection Article Date
8925 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8926 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8927 when the article was sent.
8932 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8933 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8934 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8935 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8938 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8939 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8941 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8942 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8945 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8946 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8947 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8950 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8951 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8952 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8953 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8956 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8957 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8958 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8959 @findex format-time-string
8960 Display the date using a user-defined format
8961 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8962 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8963 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8964 for a list of possible format specs.
8967 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8968 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8969 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8970 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8971 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8972 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8975 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8978 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8979 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8980 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8983 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8984 into wonderful absurdities.
8986 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8989 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8992 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8993 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8997 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8998 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8999 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9000 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9001 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9002 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9003 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9007 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9008 preferred format automatically.
9011 @node Article Display
9012 @subsection Article Display
9017 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9018 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9020 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9021 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9023 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9024 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9026 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9027 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9029 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9030 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9032 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9037 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9038 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9039 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9040 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9043 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9044 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9045 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9046 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9049 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9050 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9051 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9054 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9055 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9056 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9059 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9060 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9061 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9062 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9065 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9066 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9067 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9068 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9071 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9072 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9073 Remove all images from the article buffer
9074 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9080 @node Article Signature
9081 @subsection Article Signature
9083 @cindex article signature
9085 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9086 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9087 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9088 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9089 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9090 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9091 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9092 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9093 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9096 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9097 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9098 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9099 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9100 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9101 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9102 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9103 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9106 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9109 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9110 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9111 signature when displaying articles.
9115 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9118 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9121 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9122 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9124 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9125 in question is not a signature.
9128 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9129 listed above. Here's an example:
9132 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9133 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9136 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9137 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9138 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9139 signature after all.
9142 @node Article Miscellanea
9143 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9147 @kindex A t (Summary)
9148 @findex gnus-article-babel
9149 Translate the article from one language to another
9150 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9156 @section MIME Commands
9157 @cindex MIME decoding
9159 @cindex viewing attachments
9161 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9162 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9168 @kindex K v (Summary)
9169 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9172 @kindex K o (Summary)
9173 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9176 @kindex K c (Summary)
9177 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9180 @kindex K e (Summary)
9181 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9184 @kindex K i (Summary)
9185 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9188 @kindex K | (Summary)
9189 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9192 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9197 @kindex K b (Summary)
9198 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9199 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9203 @kindex K m (Summary)
9204 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9205 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9206 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9207 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9208 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9211 @kindex X m (Summary)
9212 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9213 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9214 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9215 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9218 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9219 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9220 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9221 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9224 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9225 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9226 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9227 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9230 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9231 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9232 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9233 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9235 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9236 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9237 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9238 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9239 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9240 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9243 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9244 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9245 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9246 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9253 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9254 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9255 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9256 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9259 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9262 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9266 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9267 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9268 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9269 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9270 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9271 default is @code{nil}.
9273 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9274 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9275 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9276 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9277 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9278 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9279 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9281 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9282 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9283 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9284 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9285 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9286 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9287 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9288 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9290 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9291 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9292 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9293 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9294 displayed. This variable overrides
9295 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9296 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9299 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9300 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9301 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9303 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9304 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9305 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9306 default value is @code{nil}.
9308 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9309 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9310 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9311 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9312 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9313 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9314 save all jpegs into some directory).
9316 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9319 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9320 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9322 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9323 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9324 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9325 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9326 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9329 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9330 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9331 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9333 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9334 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9335 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9336 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9338 Ready-made functions include@*
9339 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9340 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9341 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9342 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9343 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9344 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9345 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9346 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9347 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9348 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9349 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9350 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9352 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9353 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9355 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9356 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9357 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9360 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9361 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9362 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9363 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9367 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9376 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9377 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9378 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9379 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9380 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9381 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9382 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9384 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9385 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9386 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9387 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9389 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9390 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9391 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9392 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9393 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9394 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9395 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9396 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9397 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9399 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9400 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9401 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9402 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9403 quoted-printable header encoding.
9405 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9406 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9407 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9411 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9414 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9415 means encode all charsets),
9417 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9418 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9419 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9426 @cindex coding system aliases
9427 @cindex preferred charset
9429 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9431 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9432 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9435 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9436 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9439 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9440 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9442 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9445 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9448 This will almost do the right thing.
9450 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9454 (codepage-setup 1251)
9455 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9459 @node Article Commands
9460 @section Article Commands
9467 @kindex A P (Summary)
9468 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9469 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9470 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9471 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9472 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9473 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9478 @node Summary Sorting
9479 @section Summary Sorting
9480 @cindex summary sorting
9482 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9483 can't really see why you'd want that.
9488 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9489 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9490 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9493 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9494 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9495 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9498 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9499 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9500 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9503 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9504 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9505 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9508 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9509 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9510 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9513 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9514 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9515 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9518 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9519 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9520 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9523 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9524 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9525 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9528 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9529 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9530 Sort using the default sorting method
9531 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9534 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9535 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9536 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9537 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9538 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9542 @node Finding the Parent
9543 @section Finding the Parent
9544 @cindex parent articles
9545 @cindex referring articles
9550 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9551 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9552 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9553 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9554 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9555 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9556 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9557 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9558 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9560 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9561 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9562 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9563 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9564 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9568 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9569 @kindex A R (Summary)
9570 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9571 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9574 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9575 @kindex A T (Summary)
9576 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9577 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9578 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9579 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9580 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9581 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9582 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9584 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9585 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9586 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9587 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9588 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9589 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9592 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9593 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9595 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9596 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9597 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9598 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9599 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9600 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9601 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9604 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9605 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9606 by giving this command a prefix.
9608 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9609 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9610 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9611 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9612 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9613 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9616 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9617 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9618 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9621 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9622 then ask Google if that fails:
9625 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9627 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9630 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
9631 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9632 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9633 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9634 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9635 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9636 support this at all.
9639 @node Alternative Approaches
9640 @section Alternative Approaches
9642 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9643 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9646 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9647 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9652 @subsection Pick and Read
9653 @cindex pick and read
9655 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9656 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9657 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9658 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9660 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9661 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9662 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9663 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9664 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9665 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9667 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9672 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9673 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9674 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9675 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9676 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9677 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9678 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9679 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9682 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9683 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9684 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9685 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9689 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9690 Unpick the thread or article
9691 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9692 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9693 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9694 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9695 the thread or article at that line.
9699 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9700 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9701 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9702 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9703 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9704 will still be visible when you are reading.
9708 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9709 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9710 which is mapped to the same function
9711 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9713 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9716 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9719 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9720 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9722 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9723 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9724 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9726 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9727 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9728 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9729 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9730 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9731 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9732 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9736 @subsection Binary Groups
9737 @cindex binary groups
9739 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9740 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9741 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9742 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9743 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9744 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9745 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9748 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9749 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9750 command, when you have turned on this mode
9751 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9753 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9754 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9758 @section Tree Display
9761 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9762 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9763 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9764 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9767 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9770 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9771 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9772 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9774 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9775 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9776 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9777 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9778 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9780 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9781 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9782 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9783 default is @code{modeline}.
9785 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9786 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9787 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9788 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9789 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9790 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9791 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9797 The name of the poster.
9799 The @code{From} header.
9801 The number of the article.
9803 The opening bracket.
9805 The closing bracket.
9810 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9812 Variables related to the display are:
9815 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9816 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9817 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9818 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9820 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9821 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9822 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9824 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9826 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9827 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9828 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9829 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9833 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9834 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9835 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9836 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9837 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9838 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9839 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9840 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9841 other windows displayed next to it.
9843 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9847 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9848 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9851 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9852 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9853 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9854 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9855 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9856 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9857 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9861 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9864 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9874 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9879 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9880 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9882 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9884 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9890 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9891 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9892 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9895 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9896 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9897 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9898 (gnus-add-configuration
9902 (summary 0.75 point)
9907 @xref{Window Layout}.
9910 @node Mail Group Commands
9911 @section Mail Group Commands
9912 @cindex mail group commands
9914 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9915 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9917 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9918 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9923 @kindex B e (Summary)
9924 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9925 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9926 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9927 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9928 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9931 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9932 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9933 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9934 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9935 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9936 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9939 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9940 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9941 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9942 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9943 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9944 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9947 @kindex B m (Summary)
9949 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9950 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9951 Move the article from one mail group to another
9952 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9953 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9956 @kindex B c (Summary)
9958 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9959 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9960 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9961 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9962 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9965 @kindex B B (Summary)
9966 @cindex crosspost mail
9967 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9968 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9969 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9970 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9971 be properly updated.
9974 @kindex B i (Summary)
9975 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9976 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9977 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9978 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9981 @kindex B I (Summary)
9982 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9983 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9984 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9985 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9988 @kindex B r (Summary)
9989 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9990 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9991 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9992 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9993 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9994 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9995 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9996 (which is the default).
10000 @kindex B w (Summary)
10001 @kindex e (Summary)
10002 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10003 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10004 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10005 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10006 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10007 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10008 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10011 @kindex B q (Summary)
10012 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10013 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10014 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10015 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10018 @kindex B t (Summary)
10019 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10020 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10021 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10024 @kindex B p (Summary)
10025 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10026 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10027 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10028 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10029 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10030 article from your news server (or rather, from
10031 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10032 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10033 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10034 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10035 just not have arrived yet.
10038 @kindex K E (Summary)
10039 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10040 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10041 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10042 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10043 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10047 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10048 @cindex moving articles
10049 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10050 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10051 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10052 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10053 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10054 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10055 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10058 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10059 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10060 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10061 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10065 @node Various Summary Stuff
10066 @section Various Summary Stuff
10069 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10070 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10071 * Summary Generation Commands::
10072 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10076 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10077 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10078 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10079 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10080 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10081 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10083 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10084 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10085 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10088 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10089 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10090 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10092 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10093 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10094 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10095 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10096 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10097 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10100 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10101 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10102 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10103 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10104 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10106 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10107 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10108 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10111 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10112 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10113 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10114 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10115 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10116 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10117 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10118 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10119 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10120 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10122 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10123 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10124 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10125 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10126 list of articles to be selected.
10128 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10129 the list in one particular group:
10132 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10133 (if (string= group "some.group")
10134 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10138 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10139 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10140 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10141 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10142 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10143 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10144 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10145 other buffers. For example:
10148 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10149 '(message-use-followup-to
10150 (gnus-visible-headers .
10151 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10157 @node Summary Group Information
10158 @subsection Summary Group Information
10163 @kindex H f (Summary)
10164 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10165 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10166 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10167 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10168 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10169 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10170 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10171 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10172 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10175 @kindex H d (Summary)
10176 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10177 Give a brief description of the current group
10178 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10179 rereading the description from the server.
10182 @kindex H h (Summary)
10183 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10184 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10185 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10188 @kindex H i (Summary)
10189 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10190 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10194 @node Searching for Articles
10195 @subsection Searching for Articles
10200 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10201 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10202 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10203 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10206 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10207 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10208 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10209 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10212 @kindex & (Summary)
10213 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10214 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10215 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10216 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10217 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10218 search backward instead.
10220 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10221 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10224 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10225 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10226 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10227 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10230 @node Summary Generation Commands
10231 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10236 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10237 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10238 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10241 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10242 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10243 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10244 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10247 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10248 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10249 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10250 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10255 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10256 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10262 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10263 @kindex A D (Summary)
10264 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10265 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10266 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10267 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10268 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10269 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10270 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10271 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10275 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10276 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10277 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10278 several documents into one biiig group
10279 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10280 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10281 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10282 command understands the process/prefix convention
10283 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10286 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10287 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10288 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10289 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10290 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10291 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10294 @kindex = (Summary)
10295 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10296 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10297 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10300 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10301 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10302 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10303 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10306 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10307 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10308 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10309 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10314 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10315 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10316 @cindex summary exit
10317 @cindex exiting groups
10319 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10320 group and return you to the group buffer.
10327 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10328 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10329 @kindex q (Summary)
10330 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10331 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10332 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10333 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10334 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10335 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10336 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10337 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10338 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10339 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10340 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10341 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10345 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10346 @kindex Q (Summary)
10347 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10348 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10349 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10353 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10354 @kindex c (Summary)
10355 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10356 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10357 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10358 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10361 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10362 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10363 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10364 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10367 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10368 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10369 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10370 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10374 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10375 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10376 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10377 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10378 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10379 all articles, both read and unread.
10383 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10384 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10385 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10386 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10387 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10388 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10389 articles, both read and unread.
10392 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10393 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10394 Exit the group and go to the next group
10395 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10398 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10399 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10400 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10401 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10404 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10405 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10406 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10407 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10408 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10409 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10412 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10413 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10414 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10415 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10417 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10418 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10419 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10420 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10421 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10422 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10423 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10424 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10425 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10426 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10427 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10428 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10430 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10432 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10433 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10434 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10435 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10436 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10437 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10438 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10439 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10440 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10443 @node Crosspost Handling
10444 @section Crosspost Handling
10448 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10449 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10450 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10451 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10452 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10453 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10456 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10457 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10458 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10459 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10460 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10462 @cindex cross-posting
10464 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10465 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10466 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10467 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10468 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10469 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10470 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10471 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10472 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10473 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10474 the cross reference mechanism.
10476 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10477 @cindex overview.fmt
10478 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10479 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10480 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10481 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10482 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10483 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10486 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10487 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10488 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10493 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10496 @node Duplicate Suppression
10497 @section Duplicate Suppression
10499 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10500 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10501 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10502 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10507 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10508 is evil and not very common.
10511 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10512 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10515 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10516 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10519 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10522 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10523 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10525 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10526 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10527 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10528 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10529 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10530 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10531 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10534 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10535 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10536 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10537 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10538 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10539 saw the article in.
10542 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10543 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10544 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10546 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10547 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10548 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10549 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10550 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10551 session are suppressed.
10553 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10554 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10555 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10556 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10558 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10559 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10560 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10561 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10564 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10565 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10566 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10567 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10568 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10569 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10570 to you to figure out, I think.
10575 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10576 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10577 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10582 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10583 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10584 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10585 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10588 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10589 or newer is recommended.
10593 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10594 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10597 @item mm-verify-option
10598 @vindex mm-verify-option
10599 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10600 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10601 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10603 @item mm-decrypt-option
10604 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10605 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10606 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10607 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10610 @vindex mml1991-use
10611 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10612 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10613 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10617 @vindex mml2015-use
10618 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10619 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10620 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10625 @cindex snarfing keys
10626 @cindex importing PGP keys
10627 @cindex PGP key ring import
10628 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10629 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10630 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10631 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10632 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10633 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10634 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10635 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10636 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10639 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10642 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10643 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10646 @section Mailing List
10647 @cindex mailing list
10650 @kindex A M (summary)
10651 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10652 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10653 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10654 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10657 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10662 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10663 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10664 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10667 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10668 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10669 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10672 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10673 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10674 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10678 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10679 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10680 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10683 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10684 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10685 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10688 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10689 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10690 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10695 @node Article Buffer
10696 @chapter Article Buffer
10697 @cindex article buffer
10699 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10700 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10701 tell Gnus otherwise.
10704 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10705 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10706 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10707 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10708 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10712 @node Hiding Headers
10713 @section Hiding Headers
10714 @cindex hiding headers
10715 @cindex deleting headers
10717 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10718 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10720 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10721 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10722 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10723 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10724 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10725 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10726 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10727 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10728 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10730 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10734 @item gnus-visible-headers
10735 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10736 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10737 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10738 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10740 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10741 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10744 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10747 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10750 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10751 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10752 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10753 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10754 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10755 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10757 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10758 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10761 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10764 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10767 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10768 variable will have no effect.
10772 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10773 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10774 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10775 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10776 the headers are to be displayed.
10778 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10779 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10782 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10785 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10786 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10788 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10789 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10790 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10791 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10792 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10793 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10794 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10797 These conditions are:
10800 Remove all empty headers.
10802 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10803 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10805 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
10806 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
10809 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10812 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10813 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
10815 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10816 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10818 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10819 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10821 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10824 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10826 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10829 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10832 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10833 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10836 This is also the default value for this variable.
10840 @section Using MIME
10841 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10843 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10844 while people stand around yawning.
10846 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10847 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10849 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10850 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10851 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10853 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10854 @findex gnus-display-mime
10855 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10856 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10857 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10858 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
10860 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10861 @acronym{MIME} button:
10864 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10865 @item RET (Article)
10866 @kindex RET (Article)
10867 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10868 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
10869 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
10870 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10871 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10872 object is displayed inline.
10874 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10875 @item M-RET (Article)
10876 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10878 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10879 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10881 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10883 @kindex t (Article)
10884 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
10885 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10887 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10889 @kindex C (Article)
10890 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10891 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10893 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10895 @kindex o (Article)
10896 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
10897 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10899 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10900 @item C-o (Article)
10901 @kindex C-o (Article)
10902 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
10903 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10904 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10905 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
10906 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
10907 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10909 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
10911 @kindex d (Article)
10912 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
10913 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
10914 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
10916 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10918 @kindex c (Article)
10919 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10920 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10921 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10922 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10923 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10925 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10927 @kindex p (Article)
10928 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10929 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10930 @file{.mailcap} file.
10932 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10934 @kindex i (Article)
10935 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
10936 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10937 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10938 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10939 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
10942 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10944 @kindex E (Article)
10945 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10946 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10947 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10949 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10951 @kindex e (Article)
10952 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
10953 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10955 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10957 @kindex | (Article)
10958 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10960 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10962 @kindex . (Article)
10963 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
10964 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10968 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10969 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10970 @acronym{MIME} manual.
10972 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10973 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10974 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
10975 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10976 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10977 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10978 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10979 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10980 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10982 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10984 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10987 @node Customizing Articles
10988 @section Customizing Articles
10989 @cindex article customization
10991 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10992 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10993 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10994 called automatically when you select the articles.
10996 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10997 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10998 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10999 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11001 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11002 for sensible values.
11006 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11009 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11012 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11015 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
11018 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11022 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11023 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11024 regexps in the list.
11027 A list where the first element is not a string:
11029 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11030 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11031 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11035 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11040 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11041 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11042 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11043 considered to contain just a single part.
11045 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11046 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11047 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11048 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11049 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11050 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11051 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11053 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11054 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11055 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11056 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11059 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11060 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11062 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11064 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11065 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11066 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11067 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11068 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11069 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11070 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11071 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11072 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11073 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11075 @xref{Article Washing}.
11077 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11078 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11079 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11080 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11081 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11082 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11083 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11085 @xref{Article Date}.
11087 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11088 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11089 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11093 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11095 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11097 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11098 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11099 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11103 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11107 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11111 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11112 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11113 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11114 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11115 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11116 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11117 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11118 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11119 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11120 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11122 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11124 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11125 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11126 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11128 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11130 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11131 @item gnus-treat-translate
11132 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11134 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11135 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11136 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11137 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11139 @xref{Article Header}.
11144 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11145 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11146 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11147 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11148 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11152 @node Article Keymap
11153 @section Article Keymap
11155 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11156 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11157 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11158 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11161 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11166 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11167 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11168 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11169 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11172 @kindex DEL (Article)
11173 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11174 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11175 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11178 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11179 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11180 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11181 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11182 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11185 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11186 @findex gnus-article-mail
11187 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11188 given a prefix, include the mail.
11191 @kindex s (Article)
11192 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11193 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11194 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11197 @kindex ? (Article)
11198 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11199 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11200 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11203 @kindex TAB (Article)
11204 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11205 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11206 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11209 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11210 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11211 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11214 @kindex R (Article)
11215 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11216 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11217 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11218 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11222 @kindex F (Article)
11223 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11224 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11225 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11226 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11234 @section Misc Article
11238 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11239 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11240 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11241 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11244 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11245 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11246 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11247 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11248 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11250 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11251 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11252 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11253 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11254 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11255 the contents of the article buffer.
11257 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11258 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11259 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11261 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11262 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11263 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11264 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11266 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11267 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11268 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11269 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11271 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11272 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11273 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11274 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11275 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11281 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11282 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11283 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11288 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11291 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11294 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11295 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11296 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11299 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11302 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11305 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11310 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11314 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11316 @item gnus-break-pages
11317 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11318 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11319 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11320 paging will not be done.
11322 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11323 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11324 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11328 @cindex internationalized domain names
11329 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11330 @item gnus-use-idna
11331 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11332 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11333 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11334 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11335 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11340 @node Composing Messages
11341 @chapter Composing Messages
11342 @cindex composing messages
11345 @cindex sending mail
11350 @cindex using s/mime
11351 @cindex using smime
11353 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11354 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11355 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11356 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11357 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11358 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11361 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11362 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11363 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11364 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11365 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11366 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11367 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11368 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11371 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11372 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11378 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11381 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11382 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11383 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11384 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11385 @code{nil} include all headers.
11387 @item gnus-add-to-list
11388 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11389 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11390 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11392 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11393 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11394 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11395 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11396 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11397 confirmation is should be asked for.
11399 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11400 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11402 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11403 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11404 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11405 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11406 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11411 @node Posting Server
11412 @section Posting Server
11414 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11415 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11417 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11419 It can be quite complicated.
11421 @vindex gnus-post-method
11422 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11423 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11424 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11425 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11426 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11427 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11428 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11429 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11430 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11433 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11436 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11437 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11438 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11439 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11441 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11442 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11444 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11445 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11448 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11449 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11451 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11452 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11453 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11454 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11455 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11456 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11457 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11458 package correctly. An example:
11461 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11462 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11465 To the thing similar to this, there is
11466 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11467 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11468 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11470 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11471 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11472 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11474 @node Mail and Post
11475 @section Mail and Post
11477 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11481 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11482 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11483 @cindex mailing lists
11485 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11486 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11487 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11488 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11489 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11490 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11491 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11492 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11493 still a pain, though.
11495 @item gnus-user-agent
11496 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11499 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11500 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11501 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11502 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11503 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11504 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11505 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11509 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11510 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11511 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11514 @findex ispell-message
11516 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11519 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11520 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11523 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11527 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11528 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11530 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11533 Modify to suit your needs.
11536 @node Archived Messages
11537 @section Archived Messages
11538 @cindex archived messages
11539 @cindex sent messages
11541 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11542 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11543 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11544 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11547 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11548 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11551 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11552 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11553 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11556 (nnfolder "archive"
11557 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11558 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11559 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11560 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11563 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11564 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11565 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11566 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11569 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11570 '(nnfolder "archive"
11571 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11572 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11573 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11576 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11578 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11579 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11580 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11582 This variable can be used to do the following:
11586 Messages will be saved in that group.
11588 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11589 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11590 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11591 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11592 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11593 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11594 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11595 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11598 @item a list of strings
11599 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11601 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11602 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11605 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11610 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11612 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11615 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11617 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11620 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11622 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11623 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11624 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11625 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11628 More complex stuff:
11630 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11631 '((if (message-news-p)
11636 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11637 messages in one file per month:
11640 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11641 '((if (message-news-p)
11643 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11646 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11647 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11649 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11650 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11651 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11652 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11653 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11654 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11655 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11656 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11657 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11658 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11660 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11661 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11662 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11663 this will disable archiving.
11666 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11667 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11668 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11669 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11670 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11673 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11674 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11675 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11678 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11679 but the latter is the preferred method.
11681 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11682 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11683 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11685 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11686 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11687 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11688 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11689 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11690 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11691 changed in the future.
11696 @node Posting Styles
11697 @section Posting Styles
11698 @cindex posting styles
11701 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11703 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11704 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11705 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11708 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11709 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11710 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11711 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11712 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11717 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11718 (organization "What me?"))
11720 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11721 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11722 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11725 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11726 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11727 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11728 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11729 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11730 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11731 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11732 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11734 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11735 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11736 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11737 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11738 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11739 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11740 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11741 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11742 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11743 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11744 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11745 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11746 said to @dfn{match}.
11748 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11749 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11750 attribute name can be one of:
11753 @item @code{signature}
11754 @item @code{signature-file}
11755 @item @code{x-face-file}
11756 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11757 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11761 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11762 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11763 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11764 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11765 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11767 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11768 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11769 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11770 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11771 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11772 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11773 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11774 references chars lines xref extra.
11776 @vindex message-reply-headers
11778 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11779 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11780 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11782 @findex message-mail-p
11783 @findex message-news-p
11785 So here's a new example:
11788 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11790 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11792 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11793 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11795 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11796 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11797 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11798 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11799 (signature my-news-signature))
11800 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11801 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11802 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11803 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11804 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11805 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11806 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11807 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11808 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11809 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11811 (From (save-excursion
11812 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11813 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11815 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11818 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11819 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11820 if you fill many roles.
11827 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11828 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11829 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11830 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11831 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11833 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11834 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11835 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11836 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11837 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11841 @vindex nndraft-directory
11842 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11843 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11844 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11845 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11846 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11847 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11849 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11850 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11851 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11852 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11853 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11854 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11855 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11856 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11857 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11859 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11860 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11861 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11862 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11863 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11864 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11865 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11866 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11867 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11868 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11869 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11870 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11871 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11872 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11874 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11875 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11876 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11878 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11879 @kindex D e (Draft)
11880 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11881 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11882 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11884 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11887 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11888 @kindex D s (Draft)
11889 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11890 @kindex D S (Draft)
11891 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11892 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11893 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11894 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11895 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11898 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11899 @kindex D t (Draft)
11900 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11901 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11902 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11905 @node Rejected Articles
11906 @section Rejected Articles
11907 @cindex rejected articles
11909 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11910 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11911 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11912 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11914 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11915 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11916 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11917 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11918 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11920 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11921 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11922 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11924 @node Signing and encrypting
11925 @section Signing and encrypting
11927 @cindex using s/mime
11928 @cindex using smime
11930 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11931 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11932 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11933 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11935 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11936 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11937 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11938 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11939 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11940 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11941 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11942 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11943 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11944 automatically encrypted messages.
11946 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
11947 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
11948 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11953 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
11954 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11956 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11959 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
11960 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11962 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11965 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
11966 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11968 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11971 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
11972 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11974 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11977 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
11978 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11980 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11983 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
11984 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11986 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11989 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
11990 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11991 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
11995 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11997 @node Select Methods
11998 @chapter Select Methods
11999 @cindex foreign groups
12000 @cindex select methods
12002 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12003 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12004 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12005 personal mail group.
12007 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12008 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12009 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12010 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12011 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12012 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12014 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12015 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12017 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12020 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12021 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12022 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12023 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12024 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12026 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12029 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12030 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12031 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12032 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12033 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12034 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12035 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12036 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12040 @node Server Buffer
12041 @section Server Buffer
12043 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12044 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12045 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12046 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12047 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12048 back end represents a virtual server.
12050 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12051 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12052 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12053 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12055 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12056 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12057 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12058 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12059 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12060 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12061 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12063 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12064 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12067 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12068 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12069 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12070 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12071 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12072 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12073 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12076 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12077 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12080 @node Server Buffer Format
12081 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12082 @cindex server buffer format
12084 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12085 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12086 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12087 variable, with some simple extensions:
12092 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12095 The name of this server.
12098 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12101 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12104 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12105 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12106 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12107 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12117 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12120 @node Server Commands
12121 @subsection Server Commands
12122 @cindex server commands
12128 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12129 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12133 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12134 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12137 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12138 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12139 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12143 @findex gnus-server-exit
12144 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12148 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12149 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12153 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12154 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12158 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12159 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12163 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12164 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12168 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12169 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12170 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12175 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12176 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12177 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12178 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12183 @node Example Methods
12184 @subsection Example Methods
12186 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12189 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12192 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12198 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12199 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12202 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12203 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12205 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12206 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12210 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12213 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12214 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12216 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12217 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12218 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12222 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12225 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12228 Here's the method for a public spool:
12232 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12233 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12239 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12240 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12241 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12242 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12243 should probably look something like this:
12247 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12248 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12249 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12250 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12253 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12254 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12255 configuration to the example above:
12258 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12261 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12263 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12264 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12265 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12269 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12270 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12271 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12272 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12275 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12276 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12277 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12278 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12281 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12282 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12284 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12285 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12287 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12288 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12289 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12291 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12293 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12294 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12295 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12296 will contain the following:
12306 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12307 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12310 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12311 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12312 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12315 @node Server Variables
12316 @subsection Server Variables
12317 @cindex server variables
12318 @cindex server parameters
12320 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12321 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12322 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12323 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12324 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12326 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12327 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12328 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12329 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12330 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12331 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12332 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12333 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12334 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12338 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12339 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12340 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12343 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12345 @node Servers and Methods
12346 @subsection Servers and Methods
12348 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12349 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12350 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12351 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12355 @node Unavailable Servers
12356 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12358 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12359 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12360 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12361 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12362 actually the case or not.
12364 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12365 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12366 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12367 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12368 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12369 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12370 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12371 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12373 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12374 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12376 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12377 with the following commands:
12383 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12384 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12385 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12389 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12390 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12391 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12395 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12396 Mark the current server as unreachable
12397 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12400 @kindex M-o (Server)
12401 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12402 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12403 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12406 @kindex M-c (Server)
12407 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12408 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12409 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12413 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12414 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12415 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12419 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12420 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12426 @section Getting News
12427 @cindex reading news
12428 @cindex news back ends
12430 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12431 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12432 or it can read from a local spool.
12435 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12436 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12444 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12445 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12446 server as the, uhm, address.
12448 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12449 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12450 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12451 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12453 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12454 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12455 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12457 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12462 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12463 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12464 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12466 @cindex authentification
12467 @cindex nntp authentification
12468 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12469 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12470 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12471 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12472 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12473 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12474 present in this hook.
12476 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12477 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12478 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12479 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12480 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12481 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12482 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12483 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12484 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12485 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12486 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12487 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12491 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12494 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12496 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12497 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12498 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12499 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12500 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12501 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12502 @samp{force} is explained below.
12506 Here's an example file:
12509 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12510 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12513 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12514 have to be first, for instance.
12516 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12517 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12518 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12519 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12520 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12521 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12522 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12524 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12525 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12531 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12532 previously mentioned.
12534 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12536 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12537 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12538 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12539 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12540 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12543 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12544 '(("innd" (ding))))
12547 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12549 The default value is
12552 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12553 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12554 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12557 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12558 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12560 @item nntp-maximum-request
12561 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12562 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12563 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12564 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12565 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12566 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12567 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12569 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12570 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12571 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12572 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12573 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12574 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12575 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12576 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12577 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12578 no timeouts are done.
12580 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12581 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12582 @c @cindex PPP connections
12583 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12584 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12585 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12586 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12587 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12588 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12589 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12590 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12591 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12592 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12594 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12595 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12596 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12597 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12598 @c described above.
12600 @item nntp-server-hook
12601 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12602 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12605 @item nntp-buggy-select
12606 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12607 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12609 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12610 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12611 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12612 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12615 @item nntp-xover-commands
12616 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12617 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12619 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12620 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12624 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12625 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12626 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12627 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12628 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12629 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12630 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12631 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12632 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12633 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12634 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12636 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12637 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12638 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12640 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12641 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12642 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12643 server closes connection.
12645 @item nntp-record-commands
12646 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12647 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12648 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12649 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12650 that doesn't seem to work.
12652 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12653 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12654 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12655 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12656 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12657 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12658 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12659 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12661 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12662 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12663 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12664 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12665 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12666 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12667 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12670 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12673 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12674 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12676 @item nntp-read-timeout
12677 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12678 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12679 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12680 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12681 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12687 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12688 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12689 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12693 @node Direct Functions
12694 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12695 @cindex direct connection functions
12697 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12698 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12699 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12700 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12703 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12704 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12705 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12708 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12709 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12710 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12711 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12712 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12715 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12716 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12718 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12719 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12720 (nntp-port-number )
12721 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12724 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12725 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12726 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12727 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12728 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12729 then define a server as follows:
12732 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12733 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12735 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12736 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12737 (nntp-port-number 563)
12738 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12741 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12742 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12743 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12744 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12745 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12746 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12747 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12748 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12752 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12753 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12754 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12757 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12758 session, which is not a good idea.
12762 @node Indirect Functions
12763 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12764 @cindex indirect connection functions
12766 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12767 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12768 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12769 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12770 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12771 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12774 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12775 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12776 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12777 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12778 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12780 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12783 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12784 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12785 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12786 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12788 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12789 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12790 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12791 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12792 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12793 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12794 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12795 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12799 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12800 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12801 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12802 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12804 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12807 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12808 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12809 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12812 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12813 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12814 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12815 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12817 @item nntp-via-user-password
12818 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12819 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12821 @item nntp-via-envuser
12822 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12823 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12824 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12825 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12827 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12828 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12829 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12830 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12837 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12842 @item nntp-via-user-name
12843 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12844 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12846 @item nntp-via-address
12847 @vindex nntp-via-address
12848 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12853 @node Common Variables
12854 @subsubsection Common Variables
12856 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12857 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12862 @item nntp-pre-command
12863 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12864 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12865 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12866 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12867 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12870 @vindex nntp-address
12871 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12873 @item nntp-port-number
12874 @vindex nntp-port-number
12875 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12876 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12877 @acronym{tls}/@acronym{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12878 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12879 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12880 not work with named ports.
12882 @item nntp-end-of-line
12883 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12884 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12885 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12886 using a non native connection function.
12888 @item nntp-telnet-command
12889 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12890 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12891 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12892 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12895 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12896 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12897 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12904 @subsection News Spool
12908 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12909 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12910 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12913 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12914 anything else) as the address.
12916 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12917 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12918 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12919 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12923 @item nnspool-inews-program
12924 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12925 Program used to post an article.
12927 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12928 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12929 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12931 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12932 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12933 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12934 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12936 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12937 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12938 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
12939 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12941 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12942 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12943 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12945 @item nnspool-active-file
12946 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12947 The name of the active file.
12949 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12950 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12951 The name of the group descriptions file.
12953 @item nnspool-history-file
12954 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12955 The name of the news history file.
12957 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12958 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12959 The name of the active date file.
12961 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12962 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12963 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12966 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12967 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12969 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12970 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12971 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
12978 @section Getting Mail
12979 @cindex reading mail
12982 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12986 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12987 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12988 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12989 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12990 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12991 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12992 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12993 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12994 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12995 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
12996 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12997 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12998 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13002 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13003 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13005 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13006 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13007 of a culture shock.
13009 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13010 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13012 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13013 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13014 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13015 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13017 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13019 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13020 deleted? How awful!
13022 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13023 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13024 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13025 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13028 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13029 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13030 they want to treat a message.
13032 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13033 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13034 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13035 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13036 archived somewhere else.
13038 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13039 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13040 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13041 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13042 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13044 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13045 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13046 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13048 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13049 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13052 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13053 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13054 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13055 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13056 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13058 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13059 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13060 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13061 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13062 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13063 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13067 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13068 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13070 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13071 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13072 and things will happen automatically.
13074 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13075 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13078 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13081 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13082 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13083 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13084 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13085 like any other group.
13087 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13090 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13091 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13092 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13096 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13097 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13098 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13101 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13102 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13103 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13106 @node Splitting Mail
13107 @subsection Splitting Mail
13108 @cindex splitting mail
13109 @cindex mail splitting
13110 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13112 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13113 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13114 to be split into groups.
13117 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13118 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13119 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13120 ("mail.other" "")))
13123 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13124 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13125 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13126 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13127 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13128 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13129 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13132 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13135 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13136 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13137 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13138 mail belongs in that group.
13140 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13141 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13142 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13143 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13144 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13145 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13147 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13148 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13149 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13150 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13151 thinks should carry this mail message.
13153 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13154 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13155 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13156 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13158 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13159 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13160 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13161 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13162 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13164 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13167 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13168 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13169 links. If that's the case for you, set
13170 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13171 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13173 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13174 @findex nnmail-split-history
13175 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13176 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13177 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13178 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13181 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13182 Header lines longer than the value of
13183 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13186 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13187 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13188 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13189 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13190 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13191 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13192 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13193 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13195 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13196 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13197 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13198 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13199 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13200 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13201 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13202 other kinds of entries.)
13204 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13205 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13206 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13207 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13208 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13209 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13210 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13211 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13212 month's rent money.
13216 @subsection Mail Sources
13218 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13219 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13220 maildir, for instance.
13223 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13224 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13225 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13229 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13230 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13232 @cindex mail server
13235 @cindex mail source
13237 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13238 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13243 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13246 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13247 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13248 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13251 The following mail source types are available:
13255 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13261 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13262 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13263 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13267 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13270 An example file mail source:
13273 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13276 Or using the default file name:
13282 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13283 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13284 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13285 mail spool while moving the mail.
13287 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13291 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13294 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13298 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13301 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13303 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13306 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13310 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13311 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13312 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13313 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13314 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13315 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13316 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13317 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13318 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13319 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13321 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13322 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13323 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13324 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13330 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13334 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13338 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13339 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13340 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13341 predicate are considered.
13345 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13349 An example directory mail source:
13352 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13357 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13363 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13364 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13367 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13368 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13369 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13370 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13371 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13374 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13378 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13379 the user is prompted.
13382 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13383 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13386 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13389 The valid format specifier characters are:
13393 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13394 included in this string.
13397 The name of the server.
13400 The port number of the server.
13403 The user name to use.
13406 The password to use.
13409 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13410 corresponding keywords.
13413 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13414 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13417 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13418 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13421 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13422 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13423 mail should be moved to.
13425 @item :authentication
13426 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13427 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13432 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13433 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13435 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13436 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13442 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13445 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13446 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13449 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13452 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13456 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13457 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13458 contains exactly one mail.
13464 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13465 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13468 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13469 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13471 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13472 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13473 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13476 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13477 from locking problems).
13481 Two example maildir mail sources:
13484 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13485 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13489 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13494 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13495 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13496 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13497 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13498 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13500 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13501 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13507 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13508 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13511 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13512 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13515 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13519 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13523 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13524 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13525 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13526 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13528 @item :authentication
13529 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13530 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13531 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13532 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13535 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13536 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13537 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13543 The valid format specifier characters are:
13547 The name of the server.
13550 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13553 The port number of the server.
13556 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13557 corresponding keywords.
13560 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13561 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13564 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13565 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13566 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13567 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13568 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13569 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13572 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13573 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13574 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13575 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13578 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13579 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13583 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13586 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13588 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13592 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13593 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13594 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13596 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13597 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13599 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13605 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13606 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13609 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13613 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13617 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13618 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13622 An example webmail source:
13625 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13627 :password "secret")
13632 @item Common Keywords
13633 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13639 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13640 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13645 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13650 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13651 useful when you use local mail and news.
13656 @subsubsection Function Interface
13658 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13659 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13660 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13661 consider the following mail-source setting:
13664 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13665 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13668 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13669 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13670 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13671 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13672 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13674 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13677 @node Mail Source Customization
13678 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13680 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13681 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13685 @item mail-source-crash-box
13686 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13687 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13688 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13690 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13691 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13692 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13693 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13694 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13695 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13696 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13697 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13699 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13700 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13701 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13702 files. This variable only applies when
13703 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13705 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13706 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13707 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13709 @item mail-source-directory
13710 @vindex mail-source-directory
13711 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13712 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13713 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13716 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13717 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13718 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13719 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13720 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13721 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13723 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13724 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13725 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13727 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13728 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13729 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13730 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13735 @node Fetching Mail
13736 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13738 @vindex mail-sources
13739 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13740 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13741 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13742 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13744 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13745 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13748 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13749 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13754 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13755 :password "secret")))
13758 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13762 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13763 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13766 :password "secret")))
13770 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13771 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13772 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13773 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13774 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13775 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13779 @node Mail Back End Variables
13780 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13782 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13786 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13787 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13788 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13789 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13791 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13792 @item nnmail-split-hook
13793 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13794 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
13795 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
13796 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13797 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13798 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13799 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13800 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13801 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13804 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13805 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13806 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13807 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13808 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13809 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13810 starting to handle the new mail) and
13811 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13812 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13813 default file modes the new mail files get:
13816 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13817 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13819 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13820 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13823 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13824 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13825 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13826 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13827 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13828 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13829 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13831 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13832 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13833 @findex delete-file
13834 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13836 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13837 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13838 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13839 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13840 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13842 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13843 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13844 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13845 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13846 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13848 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13849 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13850 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13855 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13856 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13857 @cindex mail splitting
13858 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13860 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13861 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13862 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13863 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13864 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13865 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13867 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13870 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13871 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13872 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13873 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13875 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13876 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13877 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13878 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13879 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13880 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13881 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13882 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13883 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13884 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13885 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13886 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13887 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13888 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13889 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13890 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13891 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13895 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
13896 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
13897 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
13902 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
13903 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
13905 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
13906 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
13907 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
13908 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
13909 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
13910 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
13911 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13913 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
13914 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
13915 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
13916 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
13917 stored in one or more groups.
13919 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
13920 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
13921 process all @var{split}s in the list.
13924 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
13925 this message. Use with extreme caution.
13927 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
13928 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
13929 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
13930 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
13933 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13934 body of the messages:
13937 (defun split-on-body ()
13940 (goto-char (point-min))
13941 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13945 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
13946 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
13947 @code{save-excursion} in the example above. Also note that with the
13948 nnimap backend, message bodies will not be downloaded by default. You
13949 need to set @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to t to do that
13950 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
13952 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
13953 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
13954 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
13955 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
13956 should return a split.
13959 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13963 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13964 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13965 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13966 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13967 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13969 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13970 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
13971 they are expanded as specified by the variable
13972 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
13973 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
13974 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
13975 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
13979 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
13981 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
13982 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
13984 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
13987 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13988 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13989 when all this splitting is performed.
13991 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13992 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13993 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13996 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13999 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14000 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14002 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14003 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14004 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14005 groupings 1 through 9.
14007 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14008 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14009 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14011 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14012 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14013 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14014 surrounded by anything.
14017 (any "joe" "joemail")
14020 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14021 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14022 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to t, however, the
14023 match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word boundary is
14024 removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14026 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14027 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14028 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14029 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14030 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14031 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14032 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14033 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14034 it once per thread.
14036 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14037 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14038 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14039 using the colon feature, like so:
14041 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14042 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14044 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14045 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14049 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14050 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14051 in the file specified by the variable
14052 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14053 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14054 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14055 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14056 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14057 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14058 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14059 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14060 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14061 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14062 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14063 300 kBytes in size.)
14064 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14065 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14066 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14067 messages goes into the new group.
14069 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14070 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14071 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14072 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14073 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14074 ``outgoing'' group.
14077 @node Group Mail Splitting
14078 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14079 @cindex mail splitting
14080 @cindex group mail splitting
14082 @findex gnus-group-split
14083 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14084 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14085 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14086 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14087 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14088 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14089 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14090 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14092 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14093 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14094 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14095 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14097 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14098 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14099 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14100 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14101 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14102 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14103 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14105 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14106 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14107 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14108 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14109 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14110 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14111 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14113 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14114 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14115 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14116 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14117 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14118 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14119 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14120 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14121 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14122 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14123 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14124 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14125 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14127 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14132 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14133 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14135 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14136 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14137 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14138 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14140 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14143 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14144 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14145 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14148 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14149 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14150 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14154 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14155 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14156 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14160 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14163 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14164 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14165 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14166 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14167 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14168 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14169 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14170 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14171 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14173 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14174 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14175 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14176 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14177 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14178 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14179 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14180 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14181 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14183 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14184 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14185 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14186 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14187 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14188 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14191 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14194 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14195 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14196 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14197 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14198 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14201 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14202 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14203 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14204 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14206 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14207 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14208 @cindex incorporating old mail
14209 @cindex import old mail
14211 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14212 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14213 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14216 Doing so can be quite easy.
14218 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14219 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14220 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14221 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14222 your @code{nnml} groups.
14228 Go to the group buffer.
14231 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14232 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14235 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14238 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14239 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14242 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14243 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14246 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14247 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14248 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14249 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14250 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14252 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14253 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14254 using the new mail back end.
14257 @node Expiring Mail
14258 @subsection Expiring Mail
14259 @cindex article expiry
14261 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14262 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14263 different approach to mail reading.
14265 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14266 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14267 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14268 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14269 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14270 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14273 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14274 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14275 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14276 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14277 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14278 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14279 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14280 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14281 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14283 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14284 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14285 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14286 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14287 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14288 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14289 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14292 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14293 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14294 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14295 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14296 into its own group.)
14298 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14299 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14300 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14301 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14302 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14303 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14304 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14305 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14308 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14309 Groups that match the regular expression
14310 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14311 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14312 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14314 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14315 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14316 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14317 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14318 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14320 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14322 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14323 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14324 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14327 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14328 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14329 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14330 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14331 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14333 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14334 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14337 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14338 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14341 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14342 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14344 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14345 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14346 don't really mix very well.
14348 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14349 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14350 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14351 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14354 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14355 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14356 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14357 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14360 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14362 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14364 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14366 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14368 ((string= group "important")
14374 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14375 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14377 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14378 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14379 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14382 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14383 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14385 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14386 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14387 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14388 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14389 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14390 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14391 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14392 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14393 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14394 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14395 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14396 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14397 name or @code{delete}.
14399 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14401 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14404 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14405 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14406 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14407 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14408 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14411 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14412 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14413 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14414 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14415 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14418 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14419 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14420 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14421 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14422 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14423 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14425 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14426 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14427 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14428 easier for procmail users.
14430 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14431 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14432 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14433 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14434 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14435 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14436 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14437 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14438 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14439 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14440 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14441 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14442 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14445 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14447 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14448 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14449 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14450 auto-expire turned on.
14454 @subsection Washing Mail
14455 @cindex mail washing
14456 @cindex list server brain damage
14457 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14459 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14460 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14461 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14462 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14463 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14464 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14466 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14467 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14468 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14471 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14472 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14473 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14474 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14477 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14478 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14479 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14480 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14481 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14484 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14485 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14486 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14487 Emacs running on MS machines.
14491 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14492 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14493 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14494 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14497 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14498 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14499 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14500 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14502 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14503 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14504 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14505 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14506 into a feature by documenting it.)
14508 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14509 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14510 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14511 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14512 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14513 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14514 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14517 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14518 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14521 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14522 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14525 This can also be done non-destructively with
14526 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14528 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14529 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14530 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14532 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14533 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14535 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14536 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14537 @code{References} headers.
14541 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14542 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14543 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14547 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14548 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14549 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14556 @subsection Duplicates
14558 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14559 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14560 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14561 @cindex duplicate mails
14562 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14563 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14564 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14565 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14566 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14567 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14568 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14569 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14570 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14571 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14572 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14573 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14574 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14576 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14577 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14578 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14579 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14581 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14584 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14585 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14589 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14590 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14591 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14592 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14593 (any mail "mail.misc")
14594 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14600 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14601 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14602 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14606 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14607 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14608 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14609 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14610 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14613 @node Not Reading Mail
14614 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14616 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14617 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14618 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14620 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14621 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14622 mail, which should help.
14624 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14625 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14626 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14627 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14628 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14629 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14630 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14631 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14632 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14633 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14634 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14636 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14637 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14641 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14642 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14644 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14645 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14646 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14648 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14649 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14650 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14654 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14655 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14656 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14657 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14658 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14659 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14660 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14664 @node Unix Mail Box
14665 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14667 @cindex unix mail box
14669 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14670 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14671 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14672 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14673 which group it belongs in.
14675 Virtual server settings:
14678 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14679 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14680 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14683 @item nnmbox-active-file
14684 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14685 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14686 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14688 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14689 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14690 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14691 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14696 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14700 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14701 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14702 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14703 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14704 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14706 Virtual server settings:
14709 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14710 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14711 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14713 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14714 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14715 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14716 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14718 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14719 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14720 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14726 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14728 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14730 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14731 format. It should be used with some caution.
14733 @vindex nnml-directory
14734 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14735 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14736 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14737 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14739 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14742 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14743 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14744 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14745 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14746 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14747 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14748 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14749 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14751 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14752 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14753 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14754 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14756 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14758 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14759 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14760 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14761 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14762 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14763 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14764 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14765 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14768 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14769 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14770 them next time it starts.
14772 Virtual server settings:
14775 @item nnml-directory
14776 @vindex nnml-directory
14777 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14778 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14781 @item nnml-active-file
14782 @vindex nnml-active-file
14783 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14784 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14786 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14787 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14788 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14789 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14791 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14792 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14793 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14796 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14797 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14798 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14799 default is @code{nil}.
14801 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14802 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14803 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14805 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14806 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14807 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14809 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14810 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14811 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14812 default is @code{nil}.
14814 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14815 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14816 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14818 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14819 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14820 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14825 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14826 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of whack,
14827 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14828 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14829 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14830 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14831 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14836 @subsubsection MH Spool
14838 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14840 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14841 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14842 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14843 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14845 Virtual server settings:
14848 @item nnmh-directory
14849 @vindex nnmh-directory
14850 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14851 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14854 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14855 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14856 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14860 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14861 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14862 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14863 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14864 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14865 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14866 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14871 @subsubsection Maildir
14875 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14876 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14877 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14878 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14879 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14882 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14883 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
14884 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14885 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14886 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14887 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14890 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14891 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14892 data in the filesystem.
14894 nnmaildir stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each maildir. So you
14895 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14898 Virtual server settings:
14902 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14903 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14904 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14905 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14906 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14907 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14908 starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14909 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14910 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14913 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14914 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14915 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14916 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14917 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14918 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14919 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14920 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14921 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14922 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14924 @item target-prefix
14925 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14926 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14927 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14930 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14931 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14932 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14933 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14934 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14935 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14936 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14937 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14938 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14940 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14941 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14942 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14943 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14944 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14946 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14947 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14948 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14949 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14950 @code{force} argument.
14952 @item directory-files
14953 This should be a function with the same interface as
14954 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14955 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14956 parameter is optional; the default is
14957 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14958 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14959 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14960 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14961 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14962 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14965 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14966 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14967 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14968 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14969 value is @code{nil}.
14971 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14972 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14973 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14974 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14975 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14978 @subsubsection Group parameters
14980 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14981 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14982 behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after one week,
14983 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14984 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14985 duplicate the behavior you already have with another back end.
14987 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14988 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14989 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14990 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14991 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14992 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14993 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14994 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14995 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14999 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
15000 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15001 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15002 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
15003 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
15004 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
15005 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15006 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
15007 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15008 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15009 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15010 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15013 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15015 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15017 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15018 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15019 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
15020 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
15021 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15022 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15023 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15024 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15025 article. So that form can refer to
15026 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15027 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, nnmaildir does not fall
15028 back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15029 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15032 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
15033 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
15034 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
15035 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
15036 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
15037 directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
15038 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
15039 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
15040 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
15041 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
15042 extra copies of the articles.
15044 @item directory-files
15045 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15046 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15047 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15048 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15050 @item distrust-Lines:
15051 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
15052 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15053 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15056 A list of mark symbols, such as
15057 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
15058 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
15059 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
15060 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
15061 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15062 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15065 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15066 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
15067 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
15068 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15069 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15070 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15071 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15073 @item nov-cache-size
15074 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To speed
15075 things up, nnmaildir keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory for a limited number of
15076 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
15077 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
15078 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened---i.e.,
15079 when you first start Gnus, typically. The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized
15080 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
15081 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
15082 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
15083 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15086 @subsubsection Article identification
15087 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15088 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15089 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
15090 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15091 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15092 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15093 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15094 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15095 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15096 request the article in the summary buffer.
15098 @subsubsection NOV data
15099 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used to
15100 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15101 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15102 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15103 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically when the
15104 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
15105 nnmaildir to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a single article simply by
15106 deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV} file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
15107 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
15108 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15110 @subsubsection Article marks
15111 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15112 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15113 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
15114 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
15115 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
15116 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
15117 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
15118 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15120 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15121 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15122 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15123 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15124 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
15125 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
15126 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
15127 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
15128 changes, and might undo them.
15132 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15134 @cindex mbox folders
15135 @cindex mail folders
15137 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
15138 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
15139 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
15142 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15144 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15145 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15146 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15147 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15148 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15149 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15150 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
15151 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
15152 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
15153 @code{nnfolder} directory).
15155 Virtual server settings:
15158 @item nnfolder-directory
15159 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15160 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
15161 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15164 @item nnfolder-active-file
15165 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15166 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15168 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15169 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15170 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15171 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15173 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15174 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15175 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
15178 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15179 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15180 @cindex backup files
15181 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15182 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
15183 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
15184 your @file{.emacs} file:
15187 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15188 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15190 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15193 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15194 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15195 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15196 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15197 extract some information from it before removing it.
15199 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15200 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15201 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15202 default is @code{nil}.
15204 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15205 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15206 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15208 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15209 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15210 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15211 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15213 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15214 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15215 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15216 default is @code{nil}.
15218 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15219 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15220 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15222 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15223 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15224 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15225 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15230 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15231 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15232 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15233 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15234 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15235 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15238 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15239 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15241 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15242 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15243 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15244 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15245 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15247 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15248 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15249 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15250 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15251 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15252 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15253 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15254 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15257 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15258 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15259 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15260 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15265 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15266 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15267 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15268 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15269 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15270 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15271 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15272 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15273 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15274 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15275 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15276 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15277 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15282 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15283 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15284 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15285 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15286 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15287 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15288 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15289 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15290 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15291 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15292 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15293 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15294 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15295 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15297 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15298 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15303 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15304 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15305 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15306 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15307 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15308 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15309 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15310 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15311 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15312 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15313 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15314 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15315 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15316 provided by the active file and overviews.
15318 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15319 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15320 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15321 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15322 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15325 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15326 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15331 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15332 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15333 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15334 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15335 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15336 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15337 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15341 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15342 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15343 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15344 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15345 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15346 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15347 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15348 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15349 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15351 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15352 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15353 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15354 friendly mail back end all over.
15358 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15359 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15362 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15363 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15364 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15365 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15366 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15367 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15368 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15369 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15372 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15373 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15374 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15375 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15376 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15377 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15378 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15379 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15380 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15381 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15382 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15384 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15385 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15386 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15387 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15388 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15391 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15392 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15393 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15394 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15395 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15396 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15397 removed in the future.
15399 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15400 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15401 on your file system.
15403 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15404 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15409 @node Browsing the Web
15410 @section Browsing the Web
15412 @cindex browsing the web
15416 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15417 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15418 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15419 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15420 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15421 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15422 even know what a news group is.
15424 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15425 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15426 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15427 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15428 you mad in the end.
15430 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15433 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15434 interfaces to these sources.
15438 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15439 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15440 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15441 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15442 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15443 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15446 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15448 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15449 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15450 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15451 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15452 though, you should be ok.
15454 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15455 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15456 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15457 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15458 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15460 @node Archiving Mail
15461 @subsection Archiving Mail
15462 @cindex archiving mail
15463 @cindex backup of mail
15465 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15466 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15467 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15468 marks is fairly simple.
15470 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15471 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15474 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15475 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15476 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15477 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15478 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15479 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15480 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15481 before you restore the data.
15483 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15484 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15485 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15486 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15487 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15488 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15489 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15490 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15491 is unnecessary in that case.
15494 @subsection Web Searches
15499 @cindex Usenet searches
15500 @cindex searching the Usenet
15502 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15503 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15504 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15505 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15506 searches without having to use a browser.
15508 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15509 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15510 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15511 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15512 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15514 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15515 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15516 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15517 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15518 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15519 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15520 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15521 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15522 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15523 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15526 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15527 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15528 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15529 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15530 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15531 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15533 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15534 to use @code{nnweb}.
15536 Virtual server variables:
15541 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15542 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15543 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15546 @vindex nnweb-search
15547 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15549 @item nnweb-max-hits
15550 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15551 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15554 @item nnweb-type-definition
15555 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15556 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15557 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15562 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15566 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15569 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15572 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15576 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15583 @subsection Slashdot
15587 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15588 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15589 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15591 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15592 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15595 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15596 '((nnslashdot "")))
15599 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15600 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15601 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15602 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15603 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15606 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15607 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15609 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15610 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15611 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15612 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15613 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15614 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15615 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15617 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15620 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15621 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15622 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15623 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15624 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15625 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15626 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15628 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15629 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15630 The login name to use when posting.
15632 @item nnslashdot-password
15633 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15634 The password to use when posting.
15636 @item nnslashdot-directory
15637 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15638 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15639 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15641 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15642 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15643 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
15644 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
15645 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15647 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15648 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15649 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
15651 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15652 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15653 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
15654 article. The default is
15655 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15657 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15658 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15659 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15661 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15662 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15663 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15664 updated. The default is 0.
15671 @subsection Ultimate
15673 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15675 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15676 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15677 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15678 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15680 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15681 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15682 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
15683 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15684 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15685 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15686 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15688 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15691 @item nnultimate-directory
15692 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15693 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15694 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15699 @subsection Web Archive
15701 @cindex Web Archive
15703 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15704 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15705 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15706 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15709 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15710 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15711 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15712 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15713 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15714 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15715 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15716 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15718 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15721 @item nnwarchive-directory
15722 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15723 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15724 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15726 @item nnwarchive-login
15727 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15728 The account name on the web server.
15730 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15731 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15732 The password for your account on the web server.
15740 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
15741 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
15742 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
15743 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
15744 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
15746 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
15747 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15749 Use @kbd{G R} from the summary buffer to subscribe to a feed---you
15750 will be prompted for the location of the feed.
15752 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
15753 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET y}, then
15754 subscribe to groups.
15756 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15759 @item nnrss-directory
15760 @vindex nnrss-directory
15761 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15762 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15764 @item nnrss-use-local
15765 @vindex nnrss-use-local
15766 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
15767 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
15768 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
15769 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
15770 download script using @command{wget}.
15773 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15774 the summary buffer.
15777 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15778 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15780 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15782 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15783 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15786 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15789 (require 'browse-url)
15791 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15793 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15796 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15797 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15800 (browse-url (cdr url))
15801 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15802 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15804 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15805 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15806 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15807 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15810 @node Customizing w3
15811 @subsection Customizing w3
15817 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15818 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15819 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15821 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15822 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15823 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15826 (eval-after-load "w3"
15828 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15829 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15830 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15831 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15833 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15836 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15837 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15844 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15846 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15847 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15848 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15849 specify the network address of the server.
15851 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15852 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15853 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15854 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15855 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15856 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15858 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15859 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15860 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15861 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15863 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15864 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15865 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15866 usage explained in this section.
15868 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
15869 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
15870 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
15874 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15875 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15876 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15878 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15879 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15880 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15882 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15883 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15884 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15885 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15886 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15887 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15888 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15889 (nnimap-stream network))
15890 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15892 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15893 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15894 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15897 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15898 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15899 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15900 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15902 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15907 @item nnimap-address
15908 @vindex nnimap-address
15910 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15911 server name if not specified.
15913 @item nnimap-server-port
15914 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15915 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15917 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15920 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15921 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15924 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15925 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15926 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15927 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15928 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15929 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15930 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15932 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15933 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15934 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15937 Example server specification:
15940 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15941 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15942 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15945 @item nnimap-stream
15946 @vindex nnimap-stream
15947 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15948 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15949 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
15950 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
15951 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15953 Example server specification:
15956 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15957 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15960 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15964 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15965 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
15967 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15969 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15970 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15973 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
15974 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
15976 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15977 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15979 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
15981 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15984 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15985 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15986 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15987 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15988 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15989 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15990 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15991 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15992 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15995 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
15996 needed. It is available from
15997 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
15999 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16000 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16001 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16002 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16003 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16004 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16005 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16008 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16009 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16010 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16011 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16012 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16013 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16014 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16017 @vindex imap-shell-program
16018 @vindex imap-shell-host
16019 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16020 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16022 @item nnimap-authenticator
16023 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16025 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16026 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16028 Example server specification:
16031 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16032 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16035 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16039 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16040 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16042 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16045 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16046 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16048 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16050 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16052 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16055 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16057 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16058 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16059 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16060 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16061 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16062 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16065 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16066 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16067 running in circles yet?
16069 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16070 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16073 The possible options are:
16078 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16081 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16082 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16083 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16084 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16086 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16091 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16092 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16094 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16095 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16096 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16097 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16098 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16101 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16102 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16105 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16106 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16107 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16108 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16111 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16112 as ticked for other users.
16114 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16116 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16118 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16119 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16120 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16121 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16123 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16124 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16125 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16126 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16128 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16129 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16131 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16132 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16133 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16136 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16137 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16139 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16140 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16146 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16147 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16148 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16149 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16150 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16151 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16156 @node Splitting in IMAP
16157 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16158 @cindex splitting imap mail
16160 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16161 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16162 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16163 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16164 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16168 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16169 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16170 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16172 Here are the variables of interest:
16176 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16177 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16179 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16181 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16182 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16183 found will be used.
16185 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16187 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16188 @cindex splitting, inbox
16190 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16192 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16193 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16194 splitting is disabled!
16197 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16198 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16201 No nnmail equivalent.
16203 @item nnimap-split-rule
16204 @cindex splitting, rules
16205 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16207 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16210 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16211 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16212 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16213 Neither did I, we need examples.
16216 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16218 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16219 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16220 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16223 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16224 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16225 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16227 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16228 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16232 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16235 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16236 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16238 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16239 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16240 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16241 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16243 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16244 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16245 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16246 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16247 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16248 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16250 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16251 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16252 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16254 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16255 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16256 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16258 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16260 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16261 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16262 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16265 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16266 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16267 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16268 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16269 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16270 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16273 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16274 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16275 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16276 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16277 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16278 group/function elements.
16280 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16282 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16284 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16286 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16287 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16289 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16290 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16291 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16294 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16295 @cindex splitting, fancy
16296 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16297 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16299 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16300 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16301 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16303 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16304 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16305 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16306 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16311 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16312 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16315 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16317 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16318 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16319 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16321 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16322 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16323 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16324 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16328 @node Expiring in IMAP
16329 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16330 @cindex expiring imap mail
16332 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16333 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16334 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16335 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16336 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16337 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16340 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16341 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16342 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16343 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16344 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16345 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16346 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16347 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16351 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16352 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16354 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16355 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16357 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16359 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16360 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16361 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16362 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16366 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16367 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16368 @cindex editing imap acls
16369 @cindex Access Control Lists
16370 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16371 @kindex G l (Group)
16372 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16374 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16375 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16376 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16379 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16380 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16381 editing window with detailed instructions.
16383 Some possible uses:
16387 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16388 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16389 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16391 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16392 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16393 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16397 @node Expunging mailboxes
16398 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16402 @cindex manual expunging
16403 @kindex G x (Group)
16404 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16406 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16407 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16408 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16410 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16413 @node A note on namespaces
16414 @subsection A note on namespaces
16415 @cindex IMAP namespace
16418 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16419 by the following text in the RFC:
16422 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16424 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16425 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16426 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16427 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16429 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16430 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16431 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16432 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16433 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16434 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16437 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16438 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16439 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16441 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16442 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16443 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16444 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16445 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16446 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16447 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16448 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16451 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16452 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16453 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16455 @node Debugging IMAP
16456 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16457 @cindex IMAP debugging
16458 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16460 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16461 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16462 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behaviour, chances
16463 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16465 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16466 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16467 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16468 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16469 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16470 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16471 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16475 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16476 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16483 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16484 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16485 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16486 @code{BAD} - but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16489 @node Other Sources
16490 @section Other Sources
16492 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16493 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16497 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16498 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16499 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16500 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16501 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16505 @node Directory Groups
16506 @subsection Directory Groups
16508 @cindex directory groups
16510 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16511 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16514 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16515 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16516 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16517 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16519 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16520 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16521 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16522 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16523 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16525 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16527 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16528 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16529 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16530 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16533 @node Anything Groups
16534 @subsection Anything Groups
16537 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16538 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16539 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16542 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16543 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16544 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16545 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16546 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16547 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16548 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16549 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16550 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16551 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16554 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16555 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16556 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16557 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16559 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16560 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16561 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16562 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16564 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16565 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16566 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16567 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16568 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16569 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16570 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16571 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16576 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16577 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16578 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16579 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16581 @item nneething-exclude-files
16582 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16583 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16584 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16586 @item nneething-include-files
16587 @vindex nneething-include-files
16588 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16589 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16591 @item nneething-map-file
16592 @vindex nneething-map-file
16593 Name of the map files.
16597 @node Document Groups
16598 @subsection Document Groups
16600 @cindex documentation group
16603 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16604 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16611 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16616 The standard Unix mbox file.
16618 @cindex MMDF mail box
16620 The MMDF mail box format.
16623 Several news articles appended into a file.
16626 @cindex rnews batch files
16627 The rnews batch transport format.
16628 @cindex forwarded messages
16631 Forwarded articles.
16634 Netscape mail boxes.
16637 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16639 @item standard-digest
16640 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16643 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16645 @item lanl-gov-announce
16646 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16648 @item rfc822-forward
16649 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16652 The Outlook mail box.
16655 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16658 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16661 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16664 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16670 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16673 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16679 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16680 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16681 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16684 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16685 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16686 group. And that's it.
16688 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16689 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16690 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16691 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16692 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16693 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16694 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16695 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16696 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16697 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16699 Virtual server variables:
16702 @item nndoc-article-type
16703 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16704 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16705 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16706 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16707 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16708 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16710 @item nndoc-post-type
16711 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16712 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16713 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16718 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16722 @node Document Server Internals
16723 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16725 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16726 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16727 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16728 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16730 First, here's an example document type definition:
16734 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16735 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16738 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16739 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16740 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16741 types can be defined with very few settings:
16744 @item first-article
16745 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16746 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16749 @item article-begin
16750 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16751 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16753 @item head-begin-function
16754 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16757 @item nndoc-head-begin
16758 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16761 @item nndoc-head-end
16762 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16763 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16765 @item body-begin-function
16766 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16770 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16773 @item body-end-function
16774 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16778 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16781 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16782 regexp will be totally ignored.
16786 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16787 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16788 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16789 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16790 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16793 @item prepare-body-function
16794 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16795 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16796 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16798 @item article-transform-function
16799 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16800 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16801 body of the article.
16803 @item generate-head-function
16804 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16805 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16806 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16807 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16811 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16816 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16817 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16818 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16819 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16820 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16821 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16822 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16823 (subtype digest guess))
16826 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16827 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16828 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16829 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16830 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16832 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16833 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16834 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16835 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16836 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16837 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16838 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16839 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16840 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16841 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16842 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16843 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16851 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16852 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16853 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16855 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16856 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16857 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16860 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16861 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16862 that interested in doing things properly.
16864 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16865 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16868 First some terminology:
16873 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16874 get news and/or mail from.
16877 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16878 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16881 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16885 @item message packets
16886 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16887 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16888 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16890 @item response packets
16891 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16892 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16893 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16903 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16904 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16905 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16906 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16909 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16912 You put the packet in your home directory.
16915 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16916 the native or secondary server.
16919 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16920 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16923 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16927 You transfer this packet to the server.
16930 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16933 You then repeat until you die.
16937 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16938 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16941 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16942 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16943 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16947 @node SOUP Commands
16948 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16950 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16954 @kindex G s b (Group)
16955 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16956 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16957 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16958 process/prefix convention.
16961 @kindex G s w (Group)
16962 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16963 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16966 @kindex G s s (Group)
16967 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16968 Send all replies from the replies packet
16969 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16972 @kindex G s p (Group)
16973 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16974 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16977 @kindex G s r (Group)
16978 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16979 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16982 @kindex O s (Summary)
16983 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16984 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16985 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16986 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16991 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16996 @item gnus-soup-directory
16997 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16998 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16999 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17001 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17002 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17003 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17004 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17006 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17007 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17008 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17009 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17011 @item gnus-soup-packer
17012 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17013 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17014 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17016 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17017 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17018 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17019 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17021 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17022 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17023 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17025 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17026 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17027 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17028 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17034 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17037 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17038 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17039 you can read them at leisure.
17041 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17045 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17046 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17047 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17048 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17050 @item nnsoup-directory
17051 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17052 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17053 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17055 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17056 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17057 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17058 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17060 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17061 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17062 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17063 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17064 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17066 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17067 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17068 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17069 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17071 @item nnsoup-active-file
17072 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17073 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17074 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17075 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17076 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17078 @item nnsoup-packer
17079 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17080 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17081 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17083 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17084 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17085 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17086 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17088 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17089 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17090 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17093 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17094 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17095 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17098 @item nnsoup-always-save
17099 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17100 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17106 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17108 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17109 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17110 more for that to happen.
17112 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17113 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17114 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17117 In specific, this is what it does:
17120 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17121 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17124 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17125 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17126 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17129 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17130 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17131 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17134 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17135 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17136 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17138 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17144 @item nngateway-address
17145 @vindex nngateway-address
17146 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17148 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17149 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17150 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17151 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17152 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17153 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17154 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17157 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17158 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17159 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17162 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17165 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17168 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17171 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17173 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17176 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17177 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17178 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17180 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17182 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17183 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17184 @code{nngateway-address}.
17192 (setq gnus-post-method
17194 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17195 (nngateway-header-transformation
17196 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17199 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17202 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17207 @node Combined Groups
17208 @section Combined Groups
17210 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17214 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17215 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17219 @node Virtual Groups
17220 @subsection Virtual Groups
17222 @cindex virtual groups
17223 @cindex merging groups
17225 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17228 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17229 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17230 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17232 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17233 regexp to match component groups.
17235 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17236 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17237 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17238 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17239 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17240 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17241 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17242 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17244 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17245 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17248 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17251 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17252 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17254 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17255 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17256 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17257 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17260 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17263 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17264 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17265 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17267 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17268 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17269 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17270 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17271 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17273 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17274 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17275 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17277 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17278 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17279 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17280 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17281 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17282 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17283 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17284 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17285 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17286 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17287 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17289 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17290 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17291 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17292 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17293 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17294 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17295 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17297 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17298 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17300 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17301 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17305 @node Kibozed Groups
17306 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17310 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17311 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17312 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17313 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17315 @kindex G k (Group)
17316 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17319 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17320 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17321 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17322 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17324 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17325 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17326 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17328 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17329 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17330 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17331 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17332 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17333 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17334 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17335 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17337 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17338 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17339 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17340 Stranger things have happened.
17342 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17343 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17345 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17346 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17347 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17348 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17349 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17350 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17351 component articles.
17353 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17354 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17357 @node Gnus Unplugged
17358 @section Gnus Unplugged
17363 @cindex Gnus unplugged
17365 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17366 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17367 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17368 read news. Believe it or not.
17370 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17371 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17372 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17373 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17374 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17376 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17377 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17378 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17379 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17380 reading news on a machine.
17382 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17383 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17385 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17388 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17389 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17390 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17391 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
17392 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17393 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17394 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17395 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17396 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17397 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17398 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17399 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17400 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17405 @subsection Agent Basics
17407 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17409 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17410 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17411 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17412 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17414 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17415 connected to the net continuously.
17417 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17418 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17420 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
17421 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
17422 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
17423 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
17424 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
17426 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
17427 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
17428 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
17429 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
17430 they're kinda like plugged always).
17432 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
17433 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
17434 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
17437 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
17438 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
17439 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
17440 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
17441 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
17443 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17448 @findex gnus-unplugged
17449 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17450 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17451 already fetched while in this mode.
17454 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17455 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17456 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17457 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
17458 Source Specifiers}).
17461 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
17462 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
17463 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
17464 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
17465 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
17468 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17469 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17470 then you read the news offline.
17473 And then you go to step 2.
17476 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17482 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17483 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17484 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17485 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17486 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17487 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17488 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17489 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17492 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17493 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17494 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17495 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
17497 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17498 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17499 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17500 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17501 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17502 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17506 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17510 @node Agent Categories
17511 @subsection Agent Categories
17513 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17514 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17515 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17516 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17517 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17518 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17519 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17521 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17522 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17523 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17524 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17525 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17527 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17528 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17529 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17530 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17531 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17534 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17535 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17536 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17537 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17538 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17539 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17543 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17544 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17545 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17549 @node Category Syntax
17550 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17552 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17553 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17554 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17558 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17559 The name of the category.
17561 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17562 The list of groups that are in this category.
17564 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17565 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17566 are eligible for downloading; and
17568 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17569 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17570 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17571 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17573 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17574 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17575 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17576 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17577 only groups that should not be expired.
17579 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17580 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17581 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17583 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17584 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17586 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17587 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17589 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17590 an integer that overrides the value of
17591 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17593 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17594 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17597 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17600 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17601 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17602 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17605 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17606 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17607 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17608 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17610 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17611 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17612 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17614 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17615 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17616 operators sprinkled in between.
17618 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17620 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17621 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17627 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17628 short (for some value of ``short'').
17630 Here's a more complex predicate:
17639 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17640 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17643 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17644 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17645 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17647 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17648 you want to do, you can write your own.
17650 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17651 bound to the value determined by calling
17652 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17653 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17654 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17655 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17656 predicate to individual groups.
17660 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17661 lines; default 100.
17664 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17665 lines; default 200.
17668 True iff the article has a download score less than
17669 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17672 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17673 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17676 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17677 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17678 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17687 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17688 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17689 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17692 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17693 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17694 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17695 something along the lines of the following:
17698 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17699 "Say whether an article is old."
17700 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17701 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17704 with the predicate then defined as:
17707 (not my-article-old-p)
17710 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17711 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17715 (require 'gnus-agent)
17716 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17717 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17718 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17721 and simply specify your predicate as:
17727 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17728 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17729 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17730 just don't give a damn.
17732 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17733 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17734 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17735 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
17736 parameters like so:
17739 (agent-predicate . short)
17742 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17743 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17744 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17746 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17749 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17752 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17753 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17754 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17757 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17758 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17759 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17760 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17761 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17762 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17764 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17765 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17766 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17767 if it's to be specific to that group.
17769 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17776 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
17777 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17783 Category specification
17787 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17793 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17796 (agent-score ("from"
17797 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17802 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17808 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17809 keywords stated above.
17815 Category specification
17818 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17824 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17828 Group Parameter specification
17831 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17834 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17839 Use @code{normal} score files
17841 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17842 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17843 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17844 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17846 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17847 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17848 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17849 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17853 Category Specification
17860 Group Parameter specification
17863 (agent-score . file)
17868 @node Category Buffer
17869 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17871 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17872 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17873 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17875 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17879 @kindex q (Category)
17880 @findex gnus-category-exit
17881 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17884 @kindex e (Category)
17885 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17886 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17887 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17890 @kindex k (Category)
17891 @findex gnus-category-kill
17892 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17895 @kindex c (Category)
17896 @findex gnus-category-copy
17897 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17900 @kindex a (Category)
17901 @findex gnus-category-add
17902 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17905 @kindex p (Category)
17906 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17907 Edit the predicate of the current category
17908 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17911 @kindex g (Category)
17912 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17913 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17914 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17917 @kindex s (Category)
17918 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17919 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17920 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17923 @kindex l (Category)
17924 @findex gnus-category-list
17925 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17929 @node Category Variables
17930 @subsubsection Category Variables
17933 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17934 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17935 Hook run in category buffers.
17937 @item gnus-category-line-format
17938 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17939 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17940 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17944 The name of the category.
17947 The number of groups in the category.
17950 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17951 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17952 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17954 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17955 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17956 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17958 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17959 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17960 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17962 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17963 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17964 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17967 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17968 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17969 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17972 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17973 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17974 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17975 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17976 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17977 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17978 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17979 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17983 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17984 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17985 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17986 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17987 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17988 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17989 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17994 @node Agent Commands
17995 @subsection Agent Commands
17996 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17997 @kindex J j (Agent)
17999 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18000 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18001 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18005 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18006 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18007 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18013 @node Group Agent Commands
18014 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18018 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18019 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18020 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18021 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18024 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18025 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18026 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18029 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18030 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18031 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18032 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18035 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18036 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18037 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18038 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18041 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18042 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18043 Add the current group to an Agent category
18044 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18045 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18048 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18049 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18050 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18051 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18052 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18055 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18056 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18057 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18063 @node Summary Agent Commands
18064 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18068 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18069 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18070 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18073 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18074 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18075 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18076 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18080 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18081 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18082 Toggle whether to download the article
18083 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18087 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18088 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18089 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18092 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18093 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18094 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18095 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18098 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18099 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18100 Download all processable articles in this group.
18101 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18104 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18105 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18106 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18107 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18112 @node Server Agent Commands
18113 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18117 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18118 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18119 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18120 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18123 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18124 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18125 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18126 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18131 @node Agent Visuals
18132 @subsection Agent Visuals
18134 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18135 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18136 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18137 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18138 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18139 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18140 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18141 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18142 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18143 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18145 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18146 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18147 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18148 way, "If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18149 less than satisfying unplugged session". For this reason, the Agent
18150 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18151 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18152 articles will be available when unplugged.
18154 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18155 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18156 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18157 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18158 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18159 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18160 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18161 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18163 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18164 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18165 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18166 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18167 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18168 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18169 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18170 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18171 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18173 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18174 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18175 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18176 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18177 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear.
18179 For occasional Agent users, the undownloaded faces may appear to be an
18180 absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since most of their
18181 articles have not been fetched into the Agent, most of the normal
18182 faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces. If this is your
18183 situation, you have two choices available. First, you can completely
18184 disable the undownload faces by customizing
18185 @code{gnus-summary-highlight} to delete the three cons-cells that
18186 refer to the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face} faces. Second, if
18187 you prefer to take a more fine-grained approach, you may set the
18188 @code{agent-disable-undownloaded-faces} group parameter to t. This
18189 parameter, like all other agent parameters, may be set on an Agent
18190 Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}), a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic
18191 Parameters}), or an individual group (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18193 @node Agent as Cache
18194 @subsection Agent as Cache
18196 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18197 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18198 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18199 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18200 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18201 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18202 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18203 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18204 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18206 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18207 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18208 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18209 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18210 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18213 @subsection Agent Expiry
18215 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18216 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18217 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18218 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18219 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18220 @cindex agent expiry
18221 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18224 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18225 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18226 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18227 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18228 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18229 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18230 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18231 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18233 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18234 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18235 synchronized with the group.
18237 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18238 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18240 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18241 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18242 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18243 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18244 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18245 be kept indefinitely.
18247 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18248 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18249 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18250 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18252 @node Agent Regeneration
18253 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18255 @cindex agent regeneration
18256 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18257 @cindex regeneration
18259 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18260 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18261 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18262 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18263 internal inconsistencies.
18265 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18266 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18267 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18268 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18269 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18270 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18272 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18273 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18274 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18275 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18276 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18277 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18279 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18280 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18281 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18282 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18283 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18284 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18287 @node Agent and IMAP
18288 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18290 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18291 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18292 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18293 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18295 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18296 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18297 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18298 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18300 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18301 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18302 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18303 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18305 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18306 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18307 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18308 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18309 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18310 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18312 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18313 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18314 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18315 in the group buffer.
18317 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18318 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18323 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18326 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18330 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18331 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18332 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18333 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
18334 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18335 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18336 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18337 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18340 @node Outgoing Messages
18341 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18343 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18344 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18345 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18347 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18348 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18349 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18350 messages in the draft group.
18354 @node Agent Variables
18355 @subsection Agent Variables
18358 @item gnus-agent-directory
18359 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18360 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18361 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18363 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18364 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18365 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18366 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18367 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18370 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18371 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18372 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18374 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18375 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18376 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18378 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18379 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18380 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18382 @item gnus-agent-cache
18383 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18384 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18385 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18386 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18388 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18389 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18390 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18391 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18392 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18393 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18394 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18397 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18398 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18399 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18400 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18401 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18402 read. The default is t.
18404 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18405 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18406 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18407 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
18408 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
18409 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
18410 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
18411 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
18412 the agent doesn't download article which the agent will later expire,
18413 over and over again.
18415 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18416 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18417 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18418 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18419 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18420 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18421 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18422 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18423 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18424 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18425 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18426 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18429 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18430 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18431 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18432 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18433 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18434 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18435 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18436 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18437 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18439 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18440 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18441 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
18442 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18443 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18444 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18446 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18447 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18448 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18449 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18450 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18455 @node Example Setup
18456 @subsection Example Setup
18458 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18459 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18460 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18463 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18464 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18465 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18467 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18468 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18469 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18471 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18472 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18474 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18475 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18476 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18479 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18480 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18483 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18484 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18485 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18486 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18487 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18490 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18491 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18492 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18493 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18494 back all the killed groups.)
18496 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18497 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18498 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18501 @node Batching Agents
18502 @subsection Batching Agents
18503 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18505 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18506 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18507 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18509 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18510 following incantation:
18514 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18518 @node Agent Caveats
18519 @subsection Agent Caveats
18521 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18522 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18526 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18528 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18529 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18530 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18532 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18533 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18535 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18539 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18540 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18541 locally stored articles.
18548 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18549 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18550 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18553 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18554 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18555 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18556 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18557 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18559 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18560 before generating the summary buffer.
18562 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18563 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18564 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18566 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18567 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18568 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18569 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18572 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18573 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18574 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18575 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18576 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18577 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18578 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18579 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18580 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18581 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18582 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18583 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18584 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18585 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18586 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18587 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18588 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18592 @node Summary Score Commands
18593 @section Summary Score Commands
18594 @cindex score commands
18596 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18597 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18598 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18599 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18600 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18602 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18603 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18604 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18605 score file the current one.
18607 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18612 @kindex V s (Summary)
18613 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18614 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18617 @kindex V S (Summary)
18618 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18619 Display the score of the current article
18620 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18623 @kindex V t (Summary)
18624 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18625 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18626 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18627 can use @kbd{q} to quit. @kbd{e} edits the corresponding score file.
18628 When point is on a string within the match element, @kbd{e} will try to
18629 bring you to this string in the score file.
18632 @kindex V w (Summary)
18633 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18634 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18637 @kindex V R (Summary)
18638 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18639 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18640 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18641 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18642 effect you're having.
18645 @kindex V c (Summary)
18646 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18647 Make a different score file the current
18648 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18651 @kindex V e (Summary)
18652 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18653 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18654 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18658 @kindex V f (Summary)
18659 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18660 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18661 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18664 @kindex V F (Summary)
18665 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18666 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18667 after editing score files.
18670 @kindex V C (Summary)
18671 @findex gnus-score-customize
18672 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18673 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18677 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18682 @kindex V m (Summary)
18683 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18684 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18685 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18688 @kindex V x (Summary)
18689 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18690 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18691 expunge all articles below this score
18692 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18695 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18696 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18699 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18700 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18704 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18705 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18707 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18708 keys are available:
18712 Score on the author name.
18715 Score on the subject line.
18718 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18721 Score on the @code{References} line.
18727 Score on the number of lines.
18730 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18733 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18734 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18737 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18738 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18739 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18748 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18754 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18755 what headers you are scoring on.
18767 Substring matching.
18770 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18799 Greater than number.
18804 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18805 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18806 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18811 Temporary score entry.
18814 Permanent score entry.
18817 Immediately scoring.
18821 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18822 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18823 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18827 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18828 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18829 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18830 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18832 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18833 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18834 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18835 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18836 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18838 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18839 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18840 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18841 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18842 current score file.
18844 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18845 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18846 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18849 @node Group Score Commands
18850 @section Group Score Commands
18851 @cindex group score commands
18853 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18858 @kindex W f (Group)
18859 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18860 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18861 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18862 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18866 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18868 @findex gnus-batch-score
18869 @cindex batch scoring
18871 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18875 @node Score Variables
18876 @section Score Variables
18877 @cindex score variables
18881 @item gnus-use-scoring
18882 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18883 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18884 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18886 @item gnus-kill-killed
18887 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18888 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18889 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18890 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18891 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18892 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18893 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18895 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18896 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18897 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18898 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18899 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18901 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18902 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18903 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18904 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18906 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18907 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18908 @cindex score cache
18909 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18910 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18911 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18912 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18913 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18914 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18915 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18918 @item gnus-save-score
18919 @vindex gnus-save-score
18920 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18921 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18922 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18924 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18925 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18926 across group visits.
18928 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18929 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18930 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18931 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18932 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18933 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18934 manually entered data.
18936 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18937 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18938 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18940 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18941 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18942 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18943 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18944 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18945 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18947 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18948 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18949 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18950 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18952 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18953 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18954 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18955 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18957 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18958 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18959 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18960 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18962 Predefined functions available are:
18965 @item gnus-score-find-single
18966 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18967 Only apply the group's own score file.
18969 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18970 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18971 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18972 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18973 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18974 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18975 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18976 then a regexp match is done.
18978 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18979 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18981 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18982 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18983 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18984 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18986 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18987 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18988 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18989 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18990 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18994 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18995 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18996 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18997 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18998 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18999 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19000 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19003 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19004 overall score file, you could use the value
19006 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19007 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19010 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19011 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19012 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19013 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19014 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19016 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19017 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19018 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19019 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19020 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19021 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19022 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19023 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19025 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19026 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19027 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19029 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19030 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19031 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19032 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19033 threading---according to the current value of
19034 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19035 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19036 simplified in this manner.
19041 @node Score File Format
19042 @section Score File Format
19043 @cindex score file format
19045 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19046 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19047 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19049 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19053 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19055 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19057 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19059 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19064 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19068 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19069 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19070 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19071 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19075 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19076 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19078 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19079 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19080 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19082 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19087 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19088 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19089 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19090 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19091 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19092 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19093 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19094 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19095 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19096 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19097 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19098 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19099 to articles that matches these score entries.
19101 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19102 score entry has one to four elements.
19106 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19107 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19111 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19112 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19113 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19114 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19115 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19116 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19119 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19120 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19121 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19122 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19123 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19126 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19127 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19128 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19129 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19132 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19133 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19134 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19135 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19136 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19137 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19138 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19139 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19140 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19141 instead, if you feel like.
19144 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19145 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19146 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19147 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19148 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19149 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19153 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19154 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19158 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19159 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19161 These predicates are true if
19164 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19167 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19168 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19175 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19176 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19177 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19178 it's not. I think.)
19180 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19181 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19182 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19183 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19186 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19187 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19188 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19189 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19190 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19191 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19192 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19196 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19197 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19198 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19199 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19200 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19201 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19202 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19203 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19206 @item Head, Body, All
19207 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
19211 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19212 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19213 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19214 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19215 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19216 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19217 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19221 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19222 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
19223 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
19224 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
19225 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
19226 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
19227 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
19228 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
19229 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
19230 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
19231 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
19235 @cindex score file atoms
19237 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19238 lower than this number will be marked as read.
19241 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19242 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
19244 @item mark-and-expunge
19245 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19246 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
19249 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
19250 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
19251 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
19252 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19253 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19256 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19257 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19260 @item exclude-files
19261 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19262 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19266 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19267 ignored when handling global score files.
19270 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19271 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19272 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19273 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19276 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19277 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19278 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19279 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19281 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19285 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19288 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19289 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19290 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19291 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19292 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19294 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19295 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19296 scoring rules exist.
19299 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19300 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19301 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19302 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19303 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19304 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19305 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19306 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19307 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19308 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19309 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19313 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19314 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19315 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19316 file for a number of groups.
19319 @cindex local variables
19320 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19321 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19322 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19323 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19324 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19329 @node Score File Editing
19330 @section Score File Editing
19332 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19333 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19334 with a mode for that.
19336 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19337 additional commands:
19342 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19343 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19344 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19345 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19348 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19349 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19350 Insert the current date in numerical format
19351 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19352 you were wondering.
19355 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19356 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19357 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19358 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19359 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19364 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19366 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19367 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19369 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
19370 e} to begin editing score files.
19373 @node Adaptive Scoring
19374 @section Adaptive Scoring
19375 @cindex adaptive scoring
19377 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19378 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19379 stupidity, to be precise.
19381 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19382 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19383 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19384 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19385 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19386 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19387 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19388 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19389 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19391 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19392 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19393 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19394 might look something like this:
19397 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19398 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19399 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19400 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19401 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19402 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19403 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19404 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19405 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19406 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19407 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19408 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19411 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19412 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19413 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19414 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19415 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19416 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19419 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19420 will be applied to each article.
19422 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19423 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19424 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19425 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19427 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19428 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19429 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19430 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19432 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19433 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19434 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19435 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19437 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19438 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19439 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19440 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19441 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19442 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19444 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19445 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19446 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19448 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19449 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19450 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19452 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19453 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19454 let you use different rules in different groups.
19456 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19457 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19458 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19461 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19462 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19463 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19464 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19465 the length of the match is less than
19466 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19467 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19470 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19471 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19472 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19473 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19474 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19477 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19478 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19479 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19480 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19481 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19484 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19485 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19486 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19487 score with 30 points.
19489 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19490 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19491 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19492 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19493 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19495 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19496 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19497 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19498 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19499 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19501 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19502 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19503 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19504 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19506 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19507 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19508 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19509 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19511 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19512 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19513 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19514 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19515 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19517 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19518 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19519 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19521 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19522 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19523 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19524 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19527 @node Home Score File
19528 @section Home Score File
19530 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19531 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19532 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19533 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19535 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19536 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19537 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19539 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19540 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19545 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19549 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19550 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19554 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19558 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19559 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19562 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19563 be used as the home score file.
19566 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19569 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19574 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19577 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19578 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19581 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19582 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19584 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19586 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19587 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19590 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19591 Other functions include
19594 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19595 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19596 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19597 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19601 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19602 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19603 their own home score files:
19606 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19607 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19608 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19609 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19610 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19613 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19614 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19615 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19616 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19617 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19619 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19620 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19621 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19622 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19623 precedence over this variable.
19626 @node Followups To Yourself
19627 @section Followups To Yourself
19629 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19630 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19631 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19632 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19633 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19634 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19638 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19639 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19640 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19643 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19644 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19645 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19649 @vindex message-sent-hook
19650 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19651 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19653 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19657 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19658 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19662 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19663 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19666 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19667 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19672 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19676 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19677 is system-dependent.
19680 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19681 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19682 @cindex scoring on other headers
19684 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19685 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19686 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19687 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19688 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19690 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19691 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
19692 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
19693 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
19694 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19696 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19699 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19700 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19703 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19704 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19705 time if you have much mail.
19707 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19708 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19714 @section Scoring Tips
19715 @cindex scoring tips
19721 @cindex scoring crossposts
19722 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19723 the @code{Xref} header.
19725 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19728 @item Multiple crossposts
19729 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19730 more than, say, 3 groups:
19733 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19737 @item Matching on the body
19738 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19739 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19740 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19741 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19742 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19743 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19744 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19747 @item Marking as read
19748 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19749 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19750 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19754 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19756 @item Negated character classes
19757 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19758 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19759 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19763 @node Reverse Scoring
19764 @section Reverse Scoring
19765 @cindex reverse scoring
19767 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19768 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19769 like this in your score file:
19773 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19778 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19779 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19782 @node Global Score Files
19783 @section Global Score Files
19784 @cindex global score files
19786 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19787 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19788 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19790 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19791 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19792 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19794 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19795 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19796 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19797 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19798 files are applicable to which group.
19800 To use the score file
19801 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19802 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19806 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19807 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19808 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19811 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19813 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19814 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19815 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19816 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19818 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19819 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19821 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19822 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19823 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19824 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19825 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19826 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19828 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19834 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19836 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19838 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19840 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19841 lowered out of existence.
19843 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19844 articles completely.
19847 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19848 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19849 old articles for a long time.
19852 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19853 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19854 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19855 holding our breath yet?
19859 @section Kill Files
19862 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19863 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19864 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19866 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19867 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19868 files into score files.
19870 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19871 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19872 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19873 that isn't a very good idea.
19875 Normal kill files look like this:
19878 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19879 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19883 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19884 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19886 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19887 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19890 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
19895 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19896 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19897 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19900 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19901 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19902 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19905 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19910 @kindex M-k (Group)
19911 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19912 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19915 @kindex M-K (Group)
19916 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19917 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19920 Kill file variables:
19923 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19924 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19925 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19926 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19927 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19928 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19929 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19931 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19932 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19933 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19934 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19937 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19938 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19939 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19940 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19941 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19942 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19943 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19944 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19945 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19947 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19948 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19949 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19954 @node Converting Kill Files
19955 @section Converting Kill Files
19957 @cindex converting kill files
19959 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19960 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19961 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19964 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19965 You can fetch it from
19966 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19968 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19969 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19970 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19978 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19979 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19981 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/, GroupLens} is a
19982 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19983 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19984 news articles generated every day.
19986 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19987 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19988 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19989 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19990 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19991 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19992 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19993 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19997 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19998 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19999 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
20000 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
20004 @node Using GroupLens
20005 @subsection Using GroupLens
20007 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local
20008 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html, Better Bit
20009 Bureau (BBB)} is the only better bit in town at the moment.
20011 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
20015 @item gnus-use-grouplens
20016 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
20017 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
20018 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
20020 @item grouplens-pseudonym
20021 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
20022 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
20023 with the Better Bit Bureau.
20025 @item grouplens-newsgroups
20026 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
20027 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
20031 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
20032 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
20033 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
20034 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
20035 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
20036 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
20039 @node Rating Articles
20040 @subsection Rating Articles
20042 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
20043 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
20044 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
20045 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
20048 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
20053 @kindex r (GroupLens)
20054 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
20055 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
20058 @kindex k (GroupLens)
20059 @findex grouplens-score-thread
20060 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
20061 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
20062 threads in rec.humor.
20066 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
20067 the score of the article you're reading.
20072 @kindex n (GroupLens)
20073 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
20074 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
20077 @kindex , (GroupLens)
20078 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
20079 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
20083 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
20084 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
20087 @node Displaying Predictions
20088 @subsection Displaying Predictions
20090 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
20091 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
20092 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
20093 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
20094 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
20096 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
20097 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
20098 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
20099 regular Gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
20100 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
20101 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
20102 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
20103 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
20104 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
20105 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
20106 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
20107 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
20108 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
20110 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
20111 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
20112 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
20113 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
20115 The following are valid values for that variable.
20118 @item prediction-spot
20119 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
20122 @item confidence-interval
20123 A numeric confidence interval.
20125 @item prediction-bar
20126 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
20128 @item confidence-bar
20129 Numerical confidence.
20131 @item confidence-spot
20132 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
20134 @item prediction-num
20135 Plain-old numeric value.
20137 @item confidence-plus-minus
20138 Prediction +/- confidence.
20143 @node GroupLens Variables
20144 @subsection GroupLens Variables
20148 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
20149 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
20150 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
20151 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
20154 @item grouplens-bbb-host
20155 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
20158 @item grouplens-bbb-port
20159 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
20161 @item grouplens-score-offset
20162 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
20163 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
20166 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
20167 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
20168 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
20173 @node Advanced Scoring
20174 @section Advanced Scoring
20176 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20177 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20178 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20179 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20180 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20182 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20186 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20187 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20188 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20192 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20193 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20195 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20196 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20197 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20198 non-@code{nil} value.
20200 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20201 operator, and various match operators.
20208 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20209 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20210 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20215 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20216 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20217 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20222 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20223 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20227 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20228 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20229 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20230 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20231 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20232 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20233 the ancestry you want to go.
20235 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20236 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20237 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20238 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20239 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20242 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20243 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20245 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20246 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20249 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20250 when he's talking about Gnus:
20255 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20256 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20263 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20267 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20274 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20275 really don't want to read what he's written:
20279 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20280 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20284 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20285 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20286 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20293 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20294 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20295 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20296 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20300 The possibilities are endless.
20303 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20304 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20306 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20307 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20308 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20309 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20310 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20311 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20312 @samp{subject}) first.
20314 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20315 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20326 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20327 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20333 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20340 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20341 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20346 @section Score Decays
20347 @cindex score decays
20350 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20351 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20352 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20353 use them in any sensible way.
20355 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20356 @findex gnus-decay-score
20357 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20358 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20359 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20360 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20361 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20362 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20363 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20364 definition of that function:
20367 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20368 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20369 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20371 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20373 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20375 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20376 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20377 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
20378 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20379 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20381 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20385 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20386 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20387 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20388 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20392 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20395 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20398 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20402 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20403 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20404 the new score, which should be an integer.
20406 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20407 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20412 @include message.texi
20413 @chapter Emacs MIME
20414 @include emacs-mime.texi
20416 @include sieve.texi
20426 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20427 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20428 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20429 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20430 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20431 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20432 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20433 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20434 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20435 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20436 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20437 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20438 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20439 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20440 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20441 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20442 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20443 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20444 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20448 @node Process/Prefix
20449 @section Process/Prefix
20450 @cindex process/prefix convention
20452 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20453 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20455 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20456 command to be performed on.
20460 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20461 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20462 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20463 with the current one.
20465 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20466 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20467 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20469 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20470 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20473 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20474 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20476 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20479 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20480 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20481 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20482 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20484 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20485 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20486 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20487 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20488 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20489 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20490 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20491 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20493 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20494 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20495 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20496 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20497 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20501 @section Interactive
20502 @cindex interaction
20506 @item gnus-novice-user
20507 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20508 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20509 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20510 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20511 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20514 @item gnus-expert-user
20515 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20516 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20517 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20518 matter how strange.
20520 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20521 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20522 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20523 is @code{t} by default.
20525 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20526 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20527 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20532 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20533 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20534 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20536 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20537 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20538 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20539 rule of 900 to the current article.
20541 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20542 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20543 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20544 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20545 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20546 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20547 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20549 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20550 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20551 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20552 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20553 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20554 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20555 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20556 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20557 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20559 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20560 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20561 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20563 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20567 @node Formatting Variables
20568 @section Formatting Variables
20569 @cindex formatting variables
20571 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20572 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20573 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20574 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20575 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20578 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20579 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20580 lots of percentages everywhere.
20583 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20584 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20585 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20586 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20587 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20588 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20589 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20590 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20593 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20594 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20595 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20596 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20597 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20598 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20599 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20600 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20602 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20603 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20605 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20606 @findex gnus-update-format
20607 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20608 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20609 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20610 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20614 @node Formatting Basics
20615 @subsection Formatting Basics
20617 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20618 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20619 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20621 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20622 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20623 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20624 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20625 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20628 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20629 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20630 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20631 less than 4 characters wide.
20633 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20634 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20637 @node Mode Line Formatting
20638 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20640 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20641 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20642 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20643 with the following two differences:
20648 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20651 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20652 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20653 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20654 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20655 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20656 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20657 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20662 @node Advanced Formatting
20663 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20665 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20666 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20667 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20668 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20670 These are the valid modifiers:
20675 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20679 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20684 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20687 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20692 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20695 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20698 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20701 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20707 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20712 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20713 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20714 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20715 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20716 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20717 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20718 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20720 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20721 last operation, padding.
20723 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
20724 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
20725 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
20726 @xref{Compilation}.
20729 @node User-Defined Specs
20730 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20732 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20733 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20734 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20735 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20736 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20737 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20738 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20739 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20740 should protect against that.
20742 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20743 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20745 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20746 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20747 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20748 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20752 @node Formatting Fonts
20753 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20755 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20756 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20757 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20758 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20761 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20762 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20763 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20764 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20765 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20766 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20768 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20769 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20770 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20771 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20772 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20773 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20774 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20775 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20776 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20777 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20778 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20781 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20784 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20785 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20786 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20788 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20789 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20790 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20791 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20792 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20793 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20794 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20796 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20797 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20798 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20801 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20802 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20804 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20805 mode-line variables.
20807 @node Positioning Point
20808 @subsection Positioning Point
20810 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20811 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20812 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20814 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20816 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20817 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20818 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20820 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20821 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20822 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20827 @subsection Tabulation
20829 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20830 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20831 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20832 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20834 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20835 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20837 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20838 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20839 This is the soft tabulator.
20841 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20842 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20843 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20846 @node Wide Characters
20847 @subsection Wide Characters
20849 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20850 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20851 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20853 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20854 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20855 these countries, that's not true.
20857 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20858 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20859 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20860 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20864 @node Window Layout
20865 @section Window Layout
20866 @cindex window layout
20868 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20870 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20871 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20872 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20873 @code{t} by default.
20875 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20876 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20878 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20879 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20880 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20883 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20884 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20885 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20889 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20890 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20891 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20892 possible names is listed below.
20894 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20895 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20898 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20902 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20903 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20904 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20905 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20906 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20907 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20908 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20909 size spec per split.
20911 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20912 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20913 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20914 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20915 present) gets focus.
20917 Here's a more complicated example:
20920 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20921 (summary 0.25 point)
20922 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20926 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20927 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20928 occupy, not a percentage.
20930 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20931 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20932 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20933 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20934 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20937 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20940 (article (horizontal 1.0
20945 (summary 0.25 point)
20950 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20951 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20953 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20954 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20955 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20956 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20957 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20959 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20960 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20961 lines from the splits.
20963 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20968 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20969 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20970 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20971 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20972 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20973 size = number | frame-params
20974 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20978 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20979 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20980 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20981 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20983 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20984 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20985 @cindex window height
20986 @cindex window width
20987 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20988 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20989 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20990 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20991 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20992 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20994 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20995 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20996 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20997 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20999 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21000 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21001 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21002 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21003 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21004 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21005 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21006 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21007 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21008 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21009 configuration list.
21012 (gnus-configure-frame
21016 (article 0.3 point))
21024 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21025 @code{frame} split:
21028 (gnus-configure-frame
21031 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21033 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21034 (user-position . t)
21035 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21040 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21041 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21042 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21043 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21044 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21045 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21046 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21047 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21049 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21050 be found in its default value.
21052 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21053 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21054 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21058 (message (horizontal 1.0
21059 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21061 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21066 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21067 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21068 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21073 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21074 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21075 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21076 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21077 (name . "Message"))
21078 (message 1.0 point))))
21081 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21082 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21083 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21084 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21085 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21088 (gnus-add-configuration
21089 '(article (vertical 1.0
21091 (summary .25 point)
21095 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21096 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21097 Gnus has been loaded.
21099 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21100 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21101 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21102 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21103 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21105 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21106 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21107 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21110 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21114 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21115 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21130 (gnus-add-configuration
21133 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21135 (summary 0.16 point)
21138 (gnus-add-configuration
21141 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21142 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21148 @node Faces and Fonts
21149 @section Faces and Fonts
21154 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21155 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21156 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21161 @section Compilation
21162 @cindex compilation
21163 @cindex byte-compilation
21165 @findex gnus-compile
21167 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21168 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21169 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
21170 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21171 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21172 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21175 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21176 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21177 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21178 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
21179 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
21180 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
21181 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
21185 @section Mode Lines
21188 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21189 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21190 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21191 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21192 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21193 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21194 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21197 @cindex display-time
21199 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21200 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21201 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21202 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21203 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21204 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21205 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21206 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21209 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21211 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21212 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21214 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21215 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21216 (length display-time-string)))))
21219 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21220 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21221 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21222 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21223 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21226 @node Highlighting and Menus
21227 @section Highlighting and Menus
21229 @cindex highlighting
21232 @vindex gnus-visual
21233 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21234 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21235 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21238 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21239 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21242 @item group-highlight
21243 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21244 @item summary-highlight
21245 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21246 @item article-highlight
21247 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21249 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21251 Create menus in the group buffer.
21253 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21255 Create menus in the article buffer.
21257 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21259 Create menus in the server buffer.
21261 Create menus in the score buffers.
21263 Create menus in all buffers.
21266 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21267 buffers, you could say something like:
21270 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21273 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21276 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21279 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21280 in all Gnus buffers.
21282 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21285 @item gnus-mouse-face
21286 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21287 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21288 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21292 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21296 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21297 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21298 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21300 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21301 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21302 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21304 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21305 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21306 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21308 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21309 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21310 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21312 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21313 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21314 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21316 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21317 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21318 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21329 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21330 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21331 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21332 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21333 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21337 @vindex gnus-carpal
21338 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21339 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21340 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21345 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21346 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21347 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21349 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21350 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21351 Face used on buttons.
21353 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21354 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21355 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21357 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21358 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21359 Buttons in the group buffer.
21361 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21362 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21363 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21365 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21366 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21367 Buttons in the server buffer.
21369 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21370 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21371 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21374 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21375 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21376 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21384 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21385 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21386 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21387 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21388 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21390 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21391 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21392 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21394 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21395 been idle for thirty minutes:
21398 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21401 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21405 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21408 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
21409 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21410 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21412 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21413 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21414 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21415 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21417 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21418 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21419 @var{idle} minutes.
21421 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21422 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21425 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21426 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21427 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21429 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21430 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21431 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21432 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21434 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21435 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21437 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21439 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21442 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21443 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21444 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21445 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21446 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21447 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21448 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21449 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21450 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21451 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21452 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21454 @findex gnus-demon-init
21455 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21456 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21457 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21458 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21459 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21461 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21462 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21463 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21472 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21473 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21475 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21476 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21477 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21478 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21481 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21482 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21483 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21484 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21486 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21487 this will make spam disappear.
21489 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21492 @item gnus-use-nocem
21493 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21494 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21497 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21498 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21499 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21502 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21503 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21506 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21507 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21508 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21509 people you want to listen to. The default is
21511 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21512 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21514 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21516 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21517 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21519 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21520 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21521 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21522 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21523 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21524 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21525 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21526 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21527 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21528 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21530 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21531 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21534 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21537 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21538 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21541 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21544 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21547 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21548 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21550 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21551 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21552 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21553 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21555 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21556 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21559 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21561 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21569 This might be dangerous, though.
21571 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21572 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21573 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21574 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21576 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21577 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21578 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21579 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21580 might then see old spam.
21582 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21583 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21584 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21585 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21586 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21589 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21590 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21591 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21592 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21596 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21597 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21598 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21599 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21606 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21607 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21608 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21610 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21611 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21612 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21613 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21614 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21615 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21616 @code{undo} function.
21618 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21619 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21620 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21621 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21622 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21623 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21624 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21625 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21626 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21627 never be totally undoable.
21629 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21630 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21632 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21633 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21634 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21635 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21639 @node Predicate Specifiers
21640 @section Predicate Specifiers
21641 @cindex predicate specifiers
21643 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21644 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21645 to type all that much.
21647 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21652 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21653 gnus-article-unread-p)
21656 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21657 functions all take one parameter.
21659 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21660 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21661 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21662 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21667 @section Moderation
21670 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21671 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21672 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21675 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21679 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21682 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21684 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21689 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21690 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21691 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21694 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21695 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21698 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21699 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21703 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21706 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21707 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21711 @node Image Enhancements
21712 @section Image Enhancements
21714 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21715 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21716 taken advantage of that.
21719 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21720 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
21721 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21722 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21723 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21731 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21732 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21733 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21737 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21738 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21739 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21747 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21748 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21749 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21750 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21752 The variable that controls this is the
21753 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21754 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21755 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21756 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21757 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21759 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21760 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21761 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21762 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21765 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21766 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21767 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21768 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21769 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21770 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21771 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21772 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21774 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21777 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21778 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21780 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21781 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21782 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21783 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21784 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21785 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21786 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21787 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21788 header data as a string.
21790 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21791 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21792 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21793 randomly generated data.
21795 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21796 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21797 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21798 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21799 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21801 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21802 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21805 (setq message-required-news-headers
21806 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21807 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21810 Using the last function would be something like this:
21813 (setq message-required-news-headers
21814 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21815 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21816 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21817 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21825 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
21827 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
21828 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
21829 represent the author of the message.
21832 @findex gnus-article-display-face
21833 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
21834 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
21837 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21838 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
21840 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
21841 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
21842 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
21844 @findex gnus-face-from-file
21845 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
21846 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
21847 converts the file to Face format by using the
21848 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
21850 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
21851 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21854 (setq message-required-news-headers
21855 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21856 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
21857 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
21862 @subsection Smileys
21867 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21872 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21873 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21875 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21876 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21879 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21882 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21883 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21884 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21885 text and maps that to file names.
21887 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21888 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21889 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21890 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21891 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21894 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21899 @item smiley-data-directory
21900 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21901 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21903 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21904 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21905 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21919 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21920 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
21921 over your shoulder as you read news.
21923 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21932 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21933 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21934 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21935 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21936 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21937 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21938 @code{GIF} formats.
21941 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21942 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21943 point your Web browser at
21944 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21946 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21947 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21949 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21950 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21953 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21957 @item gnus-picon-databases
21958 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21959 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21960 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21961 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21962 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21964 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21965 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21966 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21967 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21969 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21970 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21971 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21972 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21974 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21975 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21976 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21977 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21978 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21980 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21981 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21982 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21983 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
21989 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21992 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21993 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21994 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21995 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21996 unusual directory structure.
21998 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21999 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22000 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
22001 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
22003 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22004 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22005 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
22006 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
22007 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
22008 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
22010 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22011 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22012 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22017 @subsubsection Toolbar
22021 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22022 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22023 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
22024 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
22025 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
22027 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22028 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22029 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22031 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22032 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22033 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22035 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22036 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22037 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22048 @node Fuzzy Matching
22049 @section Fuzzy Matching
22050 @cindex fuzzy matching
22052 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22053 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22055 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22056 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22057 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22059 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22060 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22061 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22062 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22063 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22066 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22067 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22071 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22073 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22074 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22075 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22076 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22077 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22078 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22079 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22080 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22083 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22084 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22085 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22086 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22087 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22088 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22090 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22093 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22094 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22095 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22096 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22097 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22098 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22101 @node The problem of spam
22102 @subsection The problem of spam
22104 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22105 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22107 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22109 First, some background on spam.
22111 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22112 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
22113 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
22114 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
22115 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
22116 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
22117 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
22118 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22120 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22121 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22122 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22123 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22124 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22125 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22126 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22127 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22128 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22131 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
22132 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
22133 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
22134 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
22135 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
22136 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
22137 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
22138 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
22139 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
22140 mail can be useful.
22142 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22143 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22144 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22145 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22146 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into
22147 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the
22148 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
22149 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
22150 message is spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22152 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22153 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22154 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22155 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22156 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22157 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
22158 because of the incident.
22160 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22161 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22162 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22163 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22164 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22165 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22166 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22167 to store the database of spam analyses.
22169 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22170 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22174 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22176 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22177 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22179 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22180 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22181 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22182 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22183 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22184 part of the mail address.)
22187 (setq message-default-news-headers
22188 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22191 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22192 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22196 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22197 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22198 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22203 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22204 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22205 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22206 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22208 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22209 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22210 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22211 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22212 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22213 your fancy split rule in this way:
22218 (to "larsi" "misc")
22222 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22223 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22224 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22225 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22226 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22228 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22229 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22230 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22231 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22236 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
22237 @cindex SpamAssassin
22238 @cindex Vipul's Razor
22241 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
22242 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
22243 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
22244 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
22245 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
22246 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
22247 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
22249 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
22250 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
22251 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
22252 Specifiers}) follow.
22256 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
22260 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
22263 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
22264 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
22265 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
22268 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
22272 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22275 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
22276 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
22280 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
22281 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
22282 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
22283 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
22286 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
22288 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22291 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22292 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22296 Note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will not be
22297 downloaded by default. You need to set
22298 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to t to do that (@pxref{Splitting in
22301 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22302 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22303 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22306 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22307 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22309 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22310 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22311 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22315 @subsection Hashcash
22318 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22319 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22320 you cannot rely on everyone in the world using this technique,
22321 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22322 in smaller communities.
22324 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22325 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22326 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22327 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22328 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22329 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
22330 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22331 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22332 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22333 one of them separately.
22336 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22337 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22338 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22339 header. For more details, and for the external application
22340 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22341 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22342 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22344 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22348 (require 'hashcash)
22349 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22352 The @file{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22353 contrib directory or at
22354 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22356 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22360 @item hashcash-default-payment
22361 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22362 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22363 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22364 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22366 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22367 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22368 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22369 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22370 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22371 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22372 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22373 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22374 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22378 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22382 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22383 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22384 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22385 a useful contribution, however.
22387 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22388 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22389 @cindex spam filtering
22392 The idea behind @file{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22393 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @file{spam.el} does two things: it
22394 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22395 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @file{spam.el} to indicate
22398 First of all, you @strong{must} run the function
22399 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @code{spam.el} and to install the
22400 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
22401 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
22402 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
22405 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
22409 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
22411 You get the following keyboard commands:
22421 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22422 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22424 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22425 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22426 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22427 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22433 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22434 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22436 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22442 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22443 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22446 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22447 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22448 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22449 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22450 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22451 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22452 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22453 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22454 will be detected later.
22456 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22457 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22458 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22459 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22460 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22461 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22462 by customizing the corresponding variable
22463 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22464 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22465 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22466 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22467 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22468 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22469 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22472 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22474 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22475 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22476 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22477 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22478 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22479 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22480 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
22481 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
22482 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
22483 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
22484 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
22485 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
22486 processor which will study them as spam samples.
22488 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22489 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22490 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22491 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22492 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22493 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22494 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22495 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22498 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22499 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22500 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
22504 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22505 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22509 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22510 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22511 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22512 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22513 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22514 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22517 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22518 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22519 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22520 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22521 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22522 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22523 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22524 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22525 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22526 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
22527 newsgroup specification has the format (REGEXP PROCESSOR) in a
22528 standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually.
22529 The ultimate location is a group name. If the
22530 @code{ham-process-destination} parameter is not set, ham articles are
22531 left in place. If the
22532 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22533 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
22535 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22536 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22538 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
22539 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
22540 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
22541 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
22542 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
22544 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
22545 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
22546 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
22547 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
22548 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
22551 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
22552 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22553 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22554 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22555 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22556 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22557 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22558 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each newsgroup specification has
22559 the repeated format (REGEXP PROCESSOR) and they are all in a standard
22560 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. The
22561 ultimate location is a group name. If the
22562 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
22563 articles are only expired.
22565 To use the @file{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22566 must add the following to your fancy split list
22567 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22573 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22574 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22575 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22577 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22578 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22579 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22580 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
22581 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
22582 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
22583 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
22584 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
22585 actually give you the group
22586 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
22587 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
22589 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22590 e.g. @samp{'spam-use-regex-headers} or @samp{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
22593 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22594 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22597 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22598 (any "ding" "ding")
22604 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22605 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22606 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22607 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22608 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22609 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22611 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
22612 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22613 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22616 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22617 ;;; all spam detected by spam-use-regex-headers goes to "regex-spam"
22618 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22619 (any "ding" "ding")
22620 ;;; all other spam detected by spam-split goes to spam-split-group
22626 Basically, this lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks
22627 depending on your particular needs, and to target the results of those
22628 checks to a particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail
22629 into all the spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that
22630 messages to mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have
22631 resource-intensive blackhole checks performed on them. You could also
22632 specify different spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap
22635 You still have to have specific checks such as
22636 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you specifically
22637 invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is that when
22638 loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on
22639 what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
22641 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22643 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22644 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22645 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22646 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22647 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22648 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22649 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22650 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22652 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22654 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
22655 into a back end. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
22656 longer spam or ham.}
22658 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22659 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22662 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
22663 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
22666 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22667 * BBDB Whitelists::
22668 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22669 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22671 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22673 * ifile spam filtering::
22674 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22676 * Extending the spam elisp package::
22679 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22680 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22681 @cindex spam filtering
22682 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22683 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22686 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22688 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22689 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22690 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22691 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22696 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22698 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22699 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22700 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22701 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22702 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22706 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22708 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22709 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22710 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22714 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22716 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22717 customizing the group parameters or the
22718 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22719 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22720 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22724 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22726 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22727 customizing the group parameters or the
22728 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22729 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22730 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22731 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22732 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22736 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22737 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22738 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22739 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22740 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22742 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22743 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22744 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22745 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22747 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22748 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22749 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22750 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22751 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22752 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22754 @node BBDB Whitelists
22755 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22756 @cindex spam filtering
22757 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22758 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22761 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22763 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22764 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22765 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22766 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22767 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22768 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22769 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22773 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22775 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22776 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22777 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22778 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22779 classified as spammers.
22783 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22785 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22786 customizing the group parameters or the
22787 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22788 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22789 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22790 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22791 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22795 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
22796 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
22797 @cindex spam reporting
22798 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
22799 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
22802 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
22804 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22805 customizing the group parameters or the
22806 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22807 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22808 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
22811 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
22815 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
22817 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
22818 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
22819 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
22820 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
22821 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
22826 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
22827 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
22828 @cindex spam filtering
22829 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
22832 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
22834 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22835 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
22836 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
22837 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
22838 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
22839 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
22840 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
22846 @subsubsection Blackholes
22847 @cindex spam filtering
22848 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22851 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22853 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22854 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22855 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22856 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22857 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22858 contains outdated servers.
22860 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22861 @file{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22862 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
22863 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
22864 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
22865 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22869 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22871 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22875 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22877 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22878 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
22882 @defvar spam-use-dig
22884 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22885 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22889 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22890 ham processor for blackholes.
22892 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22893 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22894 @cindex spam filtering
22895 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22898 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22900 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22901 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22902 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22903 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22904 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22905 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22909 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22911 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22912 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22916 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22918 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22919 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22923 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22924 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22927 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22928 @cindex spam filtering
22929 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22932 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22934 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22937 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22938 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22939 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22940 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22941 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22942 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22944 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
22945 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
22948 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22949 processing will be turned off.
22951 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22955 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22957 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22958 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22959 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22960 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22961 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22962 installation documents for details.
22964 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22968 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22969 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22970 customizing the group parameters or the
22971 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22972 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22973 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22976 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22977 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22978 customizing the group parameters or the
22979 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22980 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22981 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22982 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22983 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22986 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22988 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22989 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22990 database directory.
22994 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
22995 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22996 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22997 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22998 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22999 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
23001 @node ifile spam filtering
23002 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
23003 @cindex spam filtering
23004 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
23007 @defvar spam-use-ifile
23009 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
23010 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
23014 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
23016 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
23017 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
23018 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
23022 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
23024 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
23025 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
23026 the default value of @samp{spam}.
23029 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
23031 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
23032 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
23036 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
23037 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23038 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
23039 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
23042 @node spam-stat spam filtering
23043 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
23044 @cindex spam filtering
23045 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
23049 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
23051 @defvar spam-use-stat
23053 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
23054 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
23058 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
23059 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23060 customizing the group parameters or the
23061 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23062 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23063 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
23066 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
23067 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23068 customizing the group parameters or the
23069 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23070 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23071 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
23072 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
23073 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
23076 This enables @file{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
23077 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
23078 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
23079 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
23080 @code{spam-split} are provided.
23083 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
23084 @cindex spam filtering
23088 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
23089 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
23090 installed separately.
23092 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
23093 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
23094 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
23095 mail as a spam mail or not.
23097 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
23098 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
23099 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
23101 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
23102 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
23104 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
23105 To enable SpamOracle usage by @file{spam.el}, set the variable
23106 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
23107 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
23108 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
23109 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
23110 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
23111 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
23115 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
23116 spam-split-group "Junk"
23117 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
23118 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23119 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
23122 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
23123 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
23127 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
23128 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
23129 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
23133 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
23134 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
23135 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
23136 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
23137 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
23138 database to live somewhere special, set
23139 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
23142 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
23143 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
23144 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
23145 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
23146 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
23147 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
23148 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @file{spam.el}'s
23149 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
23150 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
23151 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
23153 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
23154 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23155 customizing the group parameter or the
23156 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23157 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
23158 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
23161 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
23162 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23163 customizing the group parameter or the
23164 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23165 to a grup's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
23166 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
23167 messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam} or
23168 @emph{unclassified} groups.
23171 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of an group that has been
23172 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
23175 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
23177 (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle)))
23179 For this group the @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle} is
23180 installed. If the group contains spam message (e.g. because SpamOracle
23181 has not had enough sample messages yet) and the user marks some
23182 messages as spam messages, these messages will be processed by
23183 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}. This processor sends
23184 the messages to SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
23186 @node Extending the spam elisp package
23187 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
23188 @cindex spam filtering
23189 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
23190 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
23192 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
23193 incoming mail, provide the following:
23201 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
23202 "True if blackbox should be used.")
23207 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
23209 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
23214 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
23215 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
23216 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
23218 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
23219 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
23220 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
23224 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
23231 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
23232 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
23235 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
23236 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
23237 Only applicable to spam groups.")
23239 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
23240 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
23241 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
23249 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
23250 (spam-generic-register-routine
23251 ;; @r{the spam function}
23253 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
23254 (when (stringp from)
23255 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
23256 ;; @r{the ham function}
23259 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
23260 (spam-generic-register-routine
23261 ;; @r{the spam function}
23263 ;; @r{the ham function}
23265 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
23266 (when (stringp from)
23267 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
23270 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
23271 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
23272 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
23273 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
23274 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
23275 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
23280 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23281 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23282 @cindex Paul Graham
23283 @cindex Graham, Paul
23284 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
23285 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
23286 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
23288 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
23289 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
23290 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
23291 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
23292 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
23293 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
23294 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
23295 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
23296 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
23299 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
23300 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
23301 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
23302 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
23303 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
23304 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
23305 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
23306 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
23308 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
23309 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
23310 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
23311 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
23312 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
23315 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
23316 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
23317 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
23320 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23321 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23323 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
23324 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
23325 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
23326 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
23327 need several hundred emails in both collections.
23329 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
23330 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
23331 per mail. Use the following:
23333 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
23334 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
23335 is treated as one spam mail.
23338 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
23339 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
23340 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
23343 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
23344 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
23345 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
23346 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
23347 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
23348 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
23350 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
23351 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
23352 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
23353 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
23354 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
23357 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
23358 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
23359 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
23360 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
23363 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
23364 reset the dictionary.
23366 @defun spam-stat-reset
23367 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
23370 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
23371 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
23372 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
23373 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
23374 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
23375 only non-spam mails.
23377 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
23378 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
23379 to update the dictionary incrementally.
23382 @defun spam-stat-save
23383 Save the dictionary.
23386 @defvar spam-stat-file
23387 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
23388 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
23391 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
23392 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
23394 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
23395 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23398 (require 'spam-stat)
23402 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
23405 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
23406 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
23407 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
23408 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
23410 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
23411 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
23412 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
23413 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
23416 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23417 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23421 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
23422 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
23425 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
23426 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
23427 expression are considered potential spam.
23430 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23431 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23432 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23436 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
23437 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
23438 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
23439 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
23440 mails, when creating the dictionary!
23443 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23444 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23445 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23449 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
23450 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
23451 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
23452 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
23453 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
23457 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23458 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
23459 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23460 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23465 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23466 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23468 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
23470 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
23471 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
23472 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23475 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
23476 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
23477 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23480 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
23481 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
23482 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
23483 already been processed as non-spam.
23486 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
23487 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
23488 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
23489 been processed as spam.
23492 @defun spam-stat-save
23493 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
23494 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23497 @defun spam-stat-load
23498 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
23499 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23502 @defun spam-stat-score-word
23503 Return the spam score for a word.
23506 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
23507 Return the spam score for a buffer.
23510 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
23511 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
23512 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23515 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
23516 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23519 (require 'spam-stat)
23523 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
23526 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23527 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23528 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23529 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23530 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23531 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23532 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23533 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23534 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23535 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23536 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23537 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23538 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23539 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23542 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
23545 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23546 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23547 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23548 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
23549 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23550 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23553 @node Various Various
23554 @section Various Various
23560 @item gnus-home-directory
23561 @vindex gnus-home-directory
23562 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
23563 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
23565 @item gnus-directory
23566 @vindex gnus-directory
23567 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
23568 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
23569 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
23571 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
23572 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
23573 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
23574 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
23576 @item gnus-default-directory
23577 @vindex gnus-default-directory
23578 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
23579 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
23580 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
23581 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
23582 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
23583 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
23586 @vindex gnus-verbose
23587 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
23588 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
23589 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
23590 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
23591 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
23593 @item gnus-verbose-backends
23594 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
23595 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
23596 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
23598 @item nnheader-max-head-length
23599 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
23600 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
23601 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
23602 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
23603 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
23604 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
23605 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
23606 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
23607 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
23609 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
23610 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
23611 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
23612 read when doing the operation described above.
23614 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23615 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23617 @cindex invalid characters in file names
23618 @cindex characters in file names
23619 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
23620 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
23621 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
23625 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23630 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
23631 Windows (phooey) systems.
23633 @item gnus-hidden-properties
23634 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
23635 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
23636 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
23637 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
23639 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
23640 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
23641 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
23642 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
23643 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
23645 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
23646 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
23647 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
23649 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23650 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23652 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
23653 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
23654 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
23655 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
23658 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23666 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23667 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23669 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23671 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
23677 Not because of victories @*
23680 but for the common sunshine,@*
23682 the largess of the spring.
23686 but for the day's work done@*
23687 as well as I was able;@*
23688 not for a seat upon the dais@*
23689 but at the common table.@*
23694 @chapter Appendices
23697 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
23698 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
23699 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
23700 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
23701 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
23702 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
23703 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
23704 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
23705 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
23712 @cindex installing under XEmacs
23714 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
23715 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
23716 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
23717 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
23718 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
23719 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
23726 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
23727 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
23729 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
23730 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
23731 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
23732 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
23733 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
23735 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
23736 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
23737 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
23738 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
23739 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
23740 appropriate name, don't you think?)
23742 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
23743 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
23744 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
23745 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
23748 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
23749 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
23750 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
23751 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
23752 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
23753 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
23754 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
23755 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
23756 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
23760 @node Gnus Versions
23761 @subsection Gnus Versions
23763 @cindex September Gnus
23765 @cindex Quassia Gnus
23766 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
23769 @cindex Gnus versions
23771 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
23772 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
23773 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
23775 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
23776 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
23778 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
23779 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
23781 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
23782 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
23784 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
23785 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
23788 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
23790 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
23791 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
23792 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
23793 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
23794 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
23795 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
23798 @node Other Gnus Versions
23799 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
23802 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
23803 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
23804 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
23805 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
23807 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
23808 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
23809 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
23810 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
23817 What's the point of Gnus?
23819 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
23820 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
23821 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
23822 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
23823 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
23824 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
23825 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
23826 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
23827 keep track of millions of people who post?
23829 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
23830 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
23831 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
23832 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
23833 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
23834 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
23835 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
23836 every one of you to explore and invent.
23838 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
23839 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
23842 @node Compatibility
23843 @subsection Compatibility
23845 @cindex compatibility
23846 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23847 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23848 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23853 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23857 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23860 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23863 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23864 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23865 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23866 important variables have their values copied into their global
23867 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23868 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23870 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23871 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23872 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23873 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23874 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23878 @cindex highlighting
23879 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23880 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23881 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23882 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23883 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23884 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23887 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23888 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23889 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23890 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23892 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23893 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23894 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23895 to stop doing it the old way.
23897 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23899 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23901 @cindex reporting bugs
23903 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23904 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23905 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23907 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23908 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23909 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23910 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23915 @subsection Conformity
23917 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23918 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23926 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23930 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23932 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23933 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23934 We do have some breaches to this one.
23940 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23941 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23942 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23943 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23944 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23949 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23950 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23951 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23952 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23954 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23955 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
23956 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
23958 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23959 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23961 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23964 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
23965 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
23966 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
23967 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
23968 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
23971 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23972 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23973 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23974 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23976 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23977 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
23979 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23980 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
23981 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
23982 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
23983 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
23984 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
23985 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
23986 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
23990 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23991 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23996 @subsection Emacsen
24002 Gnus should work on:
24010 XEmacs 21.1 and up.
24014 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
24015 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
24018 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
24019 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
24020 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
24024 @node Gnus Development
24025 @subsection Gnus Development
24027 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
24028 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
24029 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
24030 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
24031 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
24032 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
24033 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
24034 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
24036 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
24037 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
24038 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
24039 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
24040 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
24043 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
24044 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
24045 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
24046 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
24047 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
24049 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
24050 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
24051 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
24052 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
24053 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
24054 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
24055 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
24056 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
24057 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
24058 can't be assumed to do so.
24063 @subsection Contributors
24064 @cindex contributors
24066 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
24067 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
24068 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
24069 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
24070 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
24071 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
24072 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
24073 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
24074 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
24075 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
24077 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
24083 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
24086 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
24087 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
24088 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
24089 functionality and stuff.
24092 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
24093 well as numerous other things).
24096 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
24099 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
24102 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
24105 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
24108 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
24109 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
24112 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
24115 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
24116 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24119 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
24122 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
24125 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
24128 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
24131 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
24132 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
24135 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
24138 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
24141 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
24144 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
24148 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
24151 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
24154 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
24157 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
24158 well as autoconf support.
24162 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
24163 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
24165 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
24180 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
24182 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
24186 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
24196 Alexei V. Barantsev,
24211 Massimo Campostrini,
24216 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
24217 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
24221 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
24224 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
24230 Michael Welsh Duggan,
24235 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
24239 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
24247 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
24249 Michelangelo Grigni,
24253 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
24255 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
24257 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
24264 François Felix Ingrand,
24265 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
24266 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
24268 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
24278 Peter Skov Knudsen,
24279 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
24281 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
24282 Thor Kristoffersen,
24285 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
24303 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
24304 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
24311 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
24316 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
24320 John McClary Prevost,
24326 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
24331 Christian von Roques,
24334 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
24341 Philippe Schnoebelen,
24343 Randal L. Schwartz,
24357 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
24362 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
24382 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
24383 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
24384 (550kB and counting).
24386 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
24389 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
24390 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
24394 @subsection New Features
24395 @cindex new features
24398 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
24399 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
24400 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
24401 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
24402 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
24403 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
24406 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
24407 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
24408 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
24411 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
24413 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
24418 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
24419 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
24422 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
24423 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
24426 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
24429 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
24430 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
24431 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
24434 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
24435 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
24436 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
24437 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24440 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
24441 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24444 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
24445 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
24446 (@pxref{The Active File}).
24449 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
24450 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
24453 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
24454 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
24455 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24458 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
24459 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
24460 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
24463 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
24464 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
24467 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
24468 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
24471 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
24472 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
24475 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
24476 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24479 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
24480 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
24483 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
24484 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24487 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
24490 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
24491 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
24494 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
24495 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
24498 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
24499 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
24502 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
24505 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
24506 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24509 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
24513 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
24517 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
24518 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
24521 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
24527 @node September Gnus
24528 @subsubsection September Gnus
24532 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
24536 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
24541 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
24542 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
24546 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
24547 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
24551 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
24555 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
24556 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
24559 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
24563 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24566 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
24569 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
24572 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
24576 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
24577 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
24580 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
24584 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
24588 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
24592 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
24596 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
24599 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
24600 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
24603 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
24607 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
24608 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
24611 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
24614 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
24615 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
24616 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24619 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
24623 The Gnus cache is much faster.
24626 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
24630 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
24631 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24634 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
24635 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
24638 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
24639 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
24642 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
24643 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
24644 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
24647 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
24648 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
24651 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
24654 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24657 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
24660 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
24663 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
24664 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
24667 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24671 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
24674 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
24679 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
24682 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
24686 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24689 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
24693 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
24696 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
24699 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
24700 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24703 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
24704 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
24708 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
24709 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
24712 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
24716 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
24717 buffer to allow easier treatment.
24720 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
24723 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
24727 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
24731 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
24732 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
24735 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
24739 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
24740 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24743 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
24744 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24747 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
24751 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24754 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
24757 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
24763 @subsubsection Red Gnus
24765 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
24769 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
24776 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
24779 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
24780 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24783 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
24784 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
24788 Article washing status can be displayed in the
24789 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
24792 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
24795 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
24796 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
24799 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
24803 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
24804 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
24808 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
24809 Server Internals}).
24812 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
24816 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
24819 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
24820 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
24823 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
24824 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
24825 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
24828 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
24829 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24832 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
24833 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
24836 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
24840 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
24841 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24844 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
24845 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24848 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24852 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24855 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24859 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24860 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24863 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24864 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24867 A new command for reading collections of documents
24868 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24869 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24872 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24876 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
24877 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24880 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24881 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24882 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24885 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24886 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24890 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24894 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24898 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24903 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24907 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24911 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24912 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24915 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24921 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24923 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24928 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24929 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
24930 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
24933 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24934 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24935 group, which is created automatically.
24938 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24942 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24945 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24946 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24949 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24953 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24956 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24957 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24960 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24963 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
24967 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24968 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24971 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24972 control over simplification.
24975 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24978 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24982 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24985 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24988 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24989 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24990 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24993 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24994 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24997 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
25001 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
25002 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
25005 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
25006 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
25009 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
25013 A history of where mails have been split is available.
25016 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
25019 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
25020 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
25023 A new function for citing in Message has been
25024 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
25027 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
25030 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
25034 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
25035 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
25038 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
25039 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
25042 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
25045 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
25049 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
25050 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
25052 New features in Gnus 5.8:
25057 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
25058 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
25060 If you used procmail like in
25063 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
25064 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
25065 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
25066 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
25069 this now has changed to
25073 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
25077 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
25080 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
25081 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
25084 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
25085 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
25088 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
25089 called to position point.
25092 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
25093 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
25096 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
25097 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
25100 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
25101 subtly different manner.
25104 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
25105 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
25106 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
25109 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
25114 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
25117 New features in Gnus 5.10:
25122 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
25123 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
25126 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
25128 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
25129 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
25130 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
25131 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
25132 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
25133 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
25134 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
25135 isn't save in general.
25140 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
25141 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
25142 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
25143 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
25148 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} installs key bindings in dired buffers to send
25149 a file as an attachment (@kbd{C-c C-a}), open a file using the appropriate
25150 mailcap entry (@kbd{C-c C-l}), and print a file using the mailcap entry
25151 (@kbd{C-c P}). It is enabled with
25153 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25157 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
25160 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
25165 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
25166 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
25168 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
25169 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
25173 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
25174 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
25177 Retrieval of charters and control messages
25179 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
25180 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
25185 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
25186 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
25187 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
25190 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
25191 decompressed when activated.
25194 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
25195 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
25198 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
25201 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
25202 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
25205 Warn about email replies to news
25207 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
25208 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
25212 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
25213 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
25217 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
25218 opposed to old but unread messages).
25221 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
25222 Gcc articles as read.
25225 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
25228 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
25229 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
25232 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
25233 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
25236 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
25237 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
25240 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
25241 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
25244 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
25246 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
25247 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
25248 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
25249 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
25252 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
25254 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
25255 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
25256 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
25257 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
25258 the second parameter.
25260 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
25261 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
25262 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
25263 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
25264 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
25265 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
25266 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
25267 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
25268 cycle used under Unix systems.
25270 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
25274 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
25276 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
25277 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
25278 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
25279 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
25280 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
25284 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
25286 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
25287 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
25288 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
25289 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
25293 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
25295 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
25296 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
25297 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
25298 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
25300 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
25301 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
25302 message cited below.
25305 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
25308 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
25310 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
25311 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
25312 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
25313 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
25314 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
25317 (setq gnus-parameters
25319 (gnus-show-threads nil)
25320 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
25321 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
25322 (to-group . "\\1"))))
25326 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
25328 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
25332 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
25334 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
25335 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
25336 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
25337 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
25338 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
25339 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
25340 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
25341 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
25342 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
25345 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
25347 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
25348 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
25349 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
25350 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
25351 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
25352 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
25355 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
25356 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
25360 Improved anti-spam features.
25362 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
25363 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
25364 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
25365 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
25366 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
25369 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
25372 Face headers handling.
25375 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
25376 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
25379 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
25382 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
25384 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
25385 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
25386 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
25387 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
25388 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
25389 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
25390 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
25391 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
25392 when getting new mail, remove the function.
25395 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
25397 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
25398 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
25399 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
25400 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
25401 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
25402 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
25403 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
25404 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
25405 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
25406 was inserted directly.
25409 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
25411 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
25412 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
25418 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
25419 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
25420 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
25421 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
25422 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
25423 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
25424 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
25425 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
25426 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
25427 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
25428 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
25429 behaviour of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
25430 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
25431 is not needed any more.
25434 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
25436 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
25437 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
25438 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
25439 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
25440 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
25444 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
25446 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
25447 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
25450 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
25452 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
25453 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
25454 lisp directory into load-path.
25456 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
25457 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
25460 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
25462 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
25465 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
25467 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
25468 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
25469 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
25470 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
25473 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
25475 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
25477 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
25478 'bbdb-complete-name)
25482 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
25484 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
25485 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
25486 local files as external parts.
25488 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
25489 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
25490 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
25491 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
25492 that support editing.
25495 @code{gnus-default-charset}
25497 The default value is determined from the
25498 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
25499 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
25500 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
25503 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
25505 Add a new format of match like
25507 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
25508 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25510 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
25512 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
25513 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25517 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
25519 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
25520 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
25521 need add those two headers too.
25524 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
25526 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
25527 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
25528 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
25531 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
25532 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
25533 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
25537 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
25539 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
25542 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
25544 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
25547 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
25549 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
25550 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
25551 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
25554 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
25556 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
25560 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
25562 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
25563 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
25564 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
25565 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
25566 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
25567 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
25568 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
25569 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
25572 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
25574 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
25575 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
25576 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
25577 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
25578 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
25581 Extended format specs.
25583 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
25584 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
25585 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
25586 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
25587 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
25588 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
25591 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
25593 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
25594 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
25595 out other articles.
25597 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
25599 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
25600 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
25601 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
25602 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
25605 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
25607 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
25608 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
25609 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
25612 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
25614 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
25615 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
25616 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
25617 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
25618 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
25619 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
25620 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
25621 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
25622 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
25623 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
25624 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
25627 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
25628 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
25631 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
25632 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
25633 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
25634 message, Message Manual}).
25637 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
25638 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
25640 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
25641 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
25642 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
25644 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
25648 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
25649 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
25651 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
25652 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
25653 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
25654 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
25657 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
25660 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
25663 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
25664 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
25667 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
25669 The behaviour for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
25670 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
25671 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
25672 invalidate the digital signature.
25679 @section The Manual
25683 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
25684 either @code{texi2dvi}
25686 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
25687 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
25689 to get what you hold in your hands now.
25691 The following conventions have been used:
25696 This is a @samp{string}
25699 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
25702 This is a @file{file}
25705 This is a @code{symbol}
25709 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
25713 (setq flargnoze "yes")
25716 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
25719 (setq flumphel 'yes)
25722 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
25723 ever get them confused.
25727 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
25728 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
25729 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
25730 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
25731 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
25732 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
25733 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
25739 @node On Writing Manuals
25740 @section On Writing Manuals
25742 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
25743 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
25744 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
25745 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
25746 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
25747 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
25750 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
25751 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
25752 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
25755 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
25756 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
25761 @section Terminology
25763 @cindex terminology
25768 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
25769 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
25770 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
25771 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
25772 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
25776 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
25777 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
25778 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
25779 not posting, and replying is not following up.
25783 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
25787 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
25792 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
25793 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
25794 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
25795 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
25796 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
25797 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
25798 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
25799 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
25800 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
25803 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
25804 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
25805 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
25806 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
25807 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
25808 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
25810 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
25811 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
25812 access the articles.
25814 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
25815 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
25816 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
25821 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
25822 default, way of getting news.
25826 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
25827 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
25832 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
25833 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
25837 A message that has been posted as news.
25840 @cindex mail message
25841 A message that has been mailed.
25845 A mail message or news article
25849 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
25854 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
25859 A line from the head of an article.
25863 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
25864 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
25866 @item @acronym{NOV}
25867 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
25868 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
25869 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
25870 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
25871 normal @sc{head} format.
25875 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
25876 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
25877 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
25878 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
25879 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
25880 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
25882 @item killed groups
25883 @cindex killed groups
25884 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
25885 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
25887 @item zombie groups
25888 @cindex zombie groups
25889 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
25892 @cindex active file
25893 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
25894 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
25895 is rather large, as you might surmise.
25898 @cindex bogus groups
25899 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
25900 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
25901 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
25904 @cindex activating groups
25905 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
25906 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
25907 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
25911 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
25913 @item select method
25914 @cindex select method
25915 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
25918 @item virtual server
25919 @cindex virtual server
25920 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
25921 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
25922 whole is a virtual server.
25926 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
25927 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
25930 @item ephemeral groups
25931 @cindex ephemeral groups
25932 @cindex temporary groups
25933 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
25934 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
25935 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
25938 @cindex solid groups
25939 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
25940 group buffer are solid groups.
25942 @item sparse articles
25943 @cindex sparse articles
25944 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
25945 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
25949 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
25950 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
25954 @cindex thread root
25955 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
25956 articles in the thread.
25960 An article that has responses.
25964 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
25968 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
25969 specified by RFC 1153.
25972 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
25973 @cindex mail sorting
25974 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
25975 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
25976 incorrectly called mail filtering.
25982 @node Customization
25983 @section Customization
25984 @cindex general customization
25986 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
25987 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
25988 for some quite common situations.
25991 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
25992 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
25993 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
25994 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
25998 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
25999 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
26001 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
26002 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
26003 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
26007 @item gnus-read-active-file
26008 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
26009 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
26010 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26011 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
26012 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
26014 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
26015 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
26016 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
26017 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
26021 @node Slow Terminal Connection
26022 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
26024 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
26025 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
26026 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
26030 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
26031 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
26032 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
26033 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
26034 horizontal and vertical recentering.
26036 @item gnus-visible-headers
26037 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
26038 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
26039 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
26040 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
26042 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
26044 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
26045 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
26046 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
26049 @item gnus-use-full-window
26050 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
26051 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
26052 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
26053 want to read them anyway.
26055 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
26056 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
26060 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
26061 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
26062 lines, which might save some time.
26066 @node Little Disk Space
26067 @subsection Little Disk Space
26070 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
26071 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
26075 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
26076 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
26077 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26078 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26081 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
26082 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
26083 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26084 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26087 @item gnus-save-killed-list
26088 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
26089 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
26090 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
26091 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
26097 @subsection Slow Machine
26098 @cindex slow machine
26100 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
26101 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
26103 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26104 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
26106 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
26107 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
26108 summary buffer faster.
26112 @node Troubleshooting
26113 @section Troubleshooting
26114 @cindex troubleshooting
26116 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
26124 Make sure your computer is switched on.
26127 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
26128 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
26132 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
26133 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.3} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
26134 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
26137 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
26138 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
26141 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
26142 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
26143 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
26144 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
26145 something like that.
26148 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
26151 @cindex reporting bugs
26153 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26155 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
26156 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
26157 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
26158 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
26160 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
26161 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
26162 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
26163 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
26166 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
26167 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
26168 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
26169 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
26170 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
26171 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
26173 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
26174 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
26175 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
26179 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
26180 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
26183 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
26184 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
26185 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
26186 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
26187 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
26188 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
26189 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
26190 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
26191 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
26192 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
26193 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
26194 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
26195 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
26196 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
26201 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
26202 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
26203 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
26204 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
26205 helps isolating the real problem areas).
26207 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
26208 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
26209 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
26210 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
26211 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
26212 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
26213 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
26214 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
26215 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
26216 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
26217 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
26218 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
26219 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
26222 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
26223 @cindex ding mailing list
26224 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
26225 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
26226 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
26227 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
26231 @node Gnus Reference Guide
26232 @section Gnus Reference Guide
26234 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
26235 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
26236 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
26237 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
26240 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
26241 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
26242 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
26243 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
26244 and general methods of operation.
26247 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
26248 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
26249 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
26250 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
26251 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
26252 * Group Info:: The group info format.
26253 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
26254 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
26255 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
26259 @node Gnus Utility Functions
26260 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
26261 @cindex Gnus utility functions
26262 @cindex utility functions
26264 @cindex internal variables
26266 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
26267 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
26268 Below is a list of the most common ones.
26272 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
26273 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
26274 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
26276 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
26277 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
26278 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
26280 @item gnus-group-real-name
26281 @findex gnus-group-real-name
26282 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
26285 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
26286 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
26287 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
26288 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
26290 @item gnus-get-info
26291 @findex gnus-get-info
26292 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
26294 @item gnus-group-unread
26295 @findex gnus-group-unread
26296 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
26300 @findex gnus-active
26301 The active entry for @var{group}.
26303 @item gnus-set-active
26304 @findex gnus-set-active
26305 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
26307 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26308 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
26309 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
26312 @item gnus-continuum-version
26313 @findex gnus-continuum-version
26314 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
26315 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
26318 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
26319 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
26320 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
26322 @item gnus-news-group-p
26323 @findex gnus-news-group-p
26324 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
26326 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26327 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
26328 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
26330 @item gnus-server-to-method
26331 @findex gnus-server-to-method
26332 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
26334 @item gnus-server-equal
26335 @findex gnus-server-equal
26336 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
26338 @item gnus-group-native-p
26339 @findex gnus-group-native-p
26340 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
26342 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
26343 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
26344 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
26346 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
26347 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
26348 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
26350 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
26351 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
26352 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
26353 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
26355 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
26356 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
26357 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
26359 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
26360 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
26361 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
26363 @item gnus-check-backend-function
26364 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
26365 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
26366 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
26369 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
26373 @item gnus-read-method
26374 @findex gnus-read-method
26375 Prompts the user for a select method.
26380 @node Back End Interface
26381 @subsection Back End Interface
26383 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
26384 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
26385 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
26386 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
26387 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
26388 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
26390 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
26391 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
26392 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
26393 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
26394 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
26395 been opened, the function should fail.
26397 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
26398 name. Take this example:
26402 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
26403 (nntp-port-number 4324))
26406 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
26407 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
26409 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
26410 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
26411 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
26413 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
26414 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
26415 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
26417 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
26418 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
26419 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
26420 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
26421 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
26422 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
26425 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
26426 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
26427 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
26428 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
26431 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
26432 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
26433 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
26434 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
26435 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
26436 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
26437 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
26438 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
26439 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
26440 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
26442 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
26443 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
26444 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
26445 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
26446 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
26447 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
26448 of numbers as long as possible.
26450 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
26451 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
26452 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
26454 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
26457 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
26460 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
26461 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
26462 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
26463 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
26464 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
26465 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
26469 @node Required Back End Functions
26470 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
26474 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
26476 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
26477 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
26478 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
26479 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
26481 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
26482 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
26483 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
26484 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
26486 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
26487 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
26488 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
26489 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
26490 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
26491 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
26492 number, do maximum fetches.
26494 Here's an example HEAD:
26497 221 1056 Article retrieved.
26498 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
26499 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
26500 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
26501 Subject: Re: Something very droll
26502 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
26503 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
26505 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
26506 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
26507 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
26511 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
26512 these in the data buffer.
26514 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
26518 head = error / valid-head
26519 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
26520 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
26521 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
26522 header = <text> eol
26526 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
26528 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
26529 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
26533 nov-buffer = *nov-line
26534 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
26535 field = <text except TAB>
26538 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
26542 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
26544 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
26545 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
26547 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
26548 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
26549 server. In fact, it should do so.
26551 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
26552 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
26555 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
26557 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
26558 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
26561 There should be no data returned.
26564 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
26566 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
26567 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
26568 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
26569 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
26571 There should be no data returned.
26574 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
26576 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
26577 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
26578 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
26579 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
26581 There should be no data returned.
26584 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
26586 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
26588 There should be no data returned.
26591 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
26593 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
26594 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
26595 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
26596 it would be nice if that were possible.
26598 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
26599 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
26600 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
26601 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
26602 into its article buffer.
26604 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
26605 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
26606 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
26607 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
26608 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
26609 on successful article retrieval.
26612 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
26614 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
26615 making @var{group} the current group.
26617 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
26620 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
26623 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
26626 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
26627 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
26628 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
26629 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
26630 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
26631 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
26632 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
26633 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
26634 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
26638 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
26639 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
26640 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
26644 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
26646 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
26647 a no-op on most back ends.
26649 There should be no data returned.
26652 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
26654 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
26657 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
26660 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
26661 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
26664 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
26665 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
26666 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
26667 and the highest as 0.
26670 active-file = *active-line
26671 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
26673 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
26676 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
26677 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
26678 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
26681 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
26683 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
26684 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
26685 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
26686 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
26687 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
26688 clear if the posting could not be completed.
26690 There should be no result data from this function.
26695 @node Optional Back End Functions
26696 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
26700 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
26702 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
26703 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
26704 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
26706 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
26707 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
26708 former is in the same format as the data from
26709 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
26710 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
26713 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
26717 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
26719 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
26720 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
26721 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
26722 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
26723 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
26725 There should be no result data from this function.
26728 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
26730 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
26731 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
26732 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
26733 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
26734 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
26735 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
26736 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
26737 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
26739 There should be no result data from this function.
26742 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
26744 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
26745 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
26746 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
26747 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
26748 propagate the mark information to the server.
26750 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
26753 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
26756 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
26757 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
26758 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
26759 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
26760 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
26761 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
26762 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
26763 possible, not limit itself to these.
26765 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
26766 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
26767 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
26768 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
26770 An example action list:
26773 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
26774 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
26775 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
26778 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
26779 mark on (currently not used for anything).
26781 There should be no result data from this function.
26783 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
26785 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
26786 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
26787 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
26788 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
26789 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
26791 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
26792 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
26793 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
26796 There should be no result data from this function.
26799 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
26801 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
26802 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
26803 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
26804 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
26805 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
26806 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
26807 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
26808 local if that's practical.
26810 There should be no result data from this function.
26813 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
26815 The result data from this function should be a description of
26819 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
26821 description = <text>
26824 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
26826 The result data from this function should be the description of all
26827 groups available on the server.
26830 description-buffer = *description-line
26834 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
26836 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
26837 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
26838 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
26839 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
26840 in the active buffer format.
26842 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
26843 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
26844 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
26845 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
26846 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
26847 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
26848 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
26851 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
26853 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
26855 There should be no return data.
26858 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
26860 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
26861 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
26862 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
26863 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
26864 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
26867 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
26870 There should be no result data returned.
26873 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
26875 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
26876 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
26878 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
26879 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
26880 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
26881 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
26882 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
26883 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
26885 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
26886 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
26889 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
26890 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
26892 There should be no data returned.
26895 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
26897 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
26898 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
26899 this function in short order.
26901 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
26902 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
26904 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
26905 article for that group.
26907 There should be no data returned.
26910 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
26912 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
26913 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
26915 There should be no data returned.
26918 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
26920 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
26921 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
26922 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
26924 There should be no data returned.
26927 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
26929 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
26930 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
26932 There should be no data returned.
26937 @node Error Messaging
26938 @subsubsection Error Messaging
26940 @findex nnheader-report
26941 @findex nnheader-get-report
26942 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
26943 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
26944 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
26945 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
26946 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
26947 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
26950 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
26952 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
26955 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
26956 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
26957 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
26958 takes one argument---the server symbol.
26960 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
26961 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
26962 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
26965 @node Writing New Back Ends
26966 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
26968 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
26969 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
26970 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
26971 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
26972 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
26975 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
26976 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
26977 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
26979 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
26980 package called @code{nnoo}.
26982 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
26983 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
26989 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
26990 parameters. For instance:
26993 (nnoo-declare nndir
26997 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
26998 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
27001 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
27002 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
27003 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
27005 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
27006 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
27007 a function in those back ends.
27010 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27011 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27012 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27015 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
27016 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
27017 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
27019 @item nnoo-define-basics
27020 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
27024 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27028 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
27029 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
27030 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
27032 @item nnoo-map-functions
27033 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
27034 functions from the parent back ends.
27037 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27038 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27039 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
27042 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
27043 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
27044 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
27045 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
27048 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
27049 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
27050 haven't already been defined.
27056 nnmh-request-newgroups)
27060 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
27061 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
27062 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
27067 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
27070 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
27071 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
27075 (require 'nnheader)
27079 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
27081 (nnoo-declare nndir
27084 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27085 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27086 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27088 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
27089 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
27092 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
27094 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
27095 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
27096 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
27098 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
27099 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
27101 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
27103 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27105 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
27106 (setq nndir-directory
27107 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
27109 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
27110 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
27111 (push `(nndir-current-group
27112 ,(file-name-nondirectory
27113 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27115 (push `(nndir-top-directory
27116 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27118 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
27120 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27121 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27122 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27123 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
27124 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
27128 nnmh-status-message
27130 nnmh-request-newgroups))
27136 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27137 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27139 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
27140 @findex gnus-declare-backend
27141 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
27142 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
27143 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
27145 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
27146 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
27151 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
27154 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
27156 The abilities can be:
27160 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
27162 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
27164 This back end supports both mail and news.
27166 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
27169 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
27170 articles and groups.
27172 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
27173 true for almost all back ends.
27174 @item prompt-address
27175 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
27176 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
27177 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
27181 @node Mail-like Back Ends
27182 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
27184 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
27185 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
27186 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
27187 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
27190 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
27191 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
27192 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
27195 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
27196 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
27199 This function takes four parameters.
27203 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
27206 @item exit-function
27207 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
27209 @item temp-directory
27210 Where the temporary files should be stored.
27213 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
27214 performed for one group only.
27217 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
27218 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
27219 find the article number assigned to this article.
27221 The function also uses the following variables:
27222 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
27223 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
27224 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
27225 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
27229 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
27230 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
27234 @node Score File Syntax
27235 @subsection Score File Syntax
27237 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
27238 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
27239 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
27241 Here's a typical score file:
27245 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
27252 BNF definition of a score file:
27255 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
27256 element = rule / atom
27257 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
27258 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
27259 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
27260 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
27262 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
27263 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
27264 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
27265 date-header = "date"
27266 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27267 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27268 score = "nil" / <integer>
27269 date = "nil" / <natural number>
27270 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
27271 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
27272 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
27273 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
27274 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27275 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27276 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
27277 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27278 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
27279 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
27280 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
27281 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
27282 exclude-files / read-only / touched
27283 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
27284 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
27285 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
27286 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
27287 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
27288 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
27289 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
27290 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
27291 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
27292 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
27293 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
27294 eval = "eval" space <form>
27295 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
27298 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
27301 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
27302 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
27303 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
27304 one looong line, then that's ok.
27306 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
27307 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27311 @subsection Headers
27313 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
27314 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
27315 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
27316 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
27318 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
27319 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
27320 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
27321 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
27322 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
27323 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
27324 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
27326 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
27327 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
27328 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
27329 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
27330 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
27332 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
27333 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
27339 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
27340 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
27342 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
27343 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
27344 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
27345 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
27347 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
27351 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
27354 is transformed into
27357 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
27360 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
27361 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
27364 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
27367 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
27368 is slightly tricky:
27371 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
27377 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
27380 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
27386 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
27393 and is equal to the previous range.
27395 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
27396 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
27397 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
27401 range = simple-range / normal-range
27402 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
27403 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
27404 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
27405 number *[ " " contents ]
27408 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
27409 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
27410 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
27411 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
27412 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
27417 @subsection Group Info
27419 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
27420 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
27421 describes the group.
27423 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
27424 second is a more complex one:
27427 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
27429 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
27430 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
27432 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
27435 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
27436 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
27437 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
27438 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
27439 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
27440 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
27441 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
27442 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
27443 this section is about.
27445 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
27446 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
27447 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
27449 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
27452 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
27453 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
27454 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27455 group = quote <string> quote
27456 ralevel = rank / level
27457 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
27458 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
27459 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
27461 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
27462 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
27463 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
27464 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
27467 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
27468 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
27471 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
27472 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
27475 @item gnus-info-group
27476 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
27477 @findex gnus-info-group
27478 @findex gnus-info-set-group
27479 Get/set the group name.
27481 @item gnus-info-rank
27482 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
27483 @findex gnus-info-rank
27484 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
27485 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
27487 @item gnus-info-level
27488 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
27489 @findex gnus-info-level
27490 @findex gnus-info-set-level
27491 Get/set the group level.
27493 @item gnus-info-score
27494 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
27495 @findex gnus-info-score
27496 @findex gnus-info-set-score
27497 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
27499 @item gnus-info-read
27500 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
27501 @findex gnus-info-read
27502 @findex gnus-info-set-read
27503 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
27505 @item gnus-info-marks
27506 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
27507 @findex gnus-info-marks
27508 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
27509 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
27511 @item gnus-info-method
27512 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
27513 @findex gnus-info-method
27514 @findex gnus-info-set-method
27515 Get/set the group select method.
27517 @item gnus-info-params
27518 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
27519 @findex gnus-info-params
27520 @findex gnus-info-set-params
27521 Get/set the group parameters.
27524 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
27525 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
27527 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
27528 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
27529 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
27530 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
27533 @node Extended Interactive
27534 @subsection Extended Interactive
27535 @cindex interactive
27536 @findex gnus-interactive
27538 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
27539 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
27540 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
27543 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
27544 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
27549 The best thing to do would have been to implement
27550 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
27551 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
27552 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
27553 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
27554 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
27555 @code{interactive}.
27557 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
27562 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
27563 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
27567 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
27568 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
27569 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
27572 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
27576 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
27580 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
27586 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
27587 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
27591 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
27592 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
27593 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
27595 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
27596 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
27597 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
27598 Gnus, that's very useful.
27600 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
27601 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
27602 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
27603 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
27604 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
27605 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
27606 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
27607 following function:
27610 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
27614 (,function ,@@args))
27618 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
27619 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
27620 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
27623 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
27624 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
27625 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
27627 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
27628 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
27629 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
27632 @node Various File Formats
27633 @subsection Various File Formats
27636 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
27637 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
27641 @node Active File Format
27642 @subsubsection Active File Format
27644 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
27645 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
27648 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
27651 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
27652 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
27653 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
27654 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
27655 no.general 1000 900 y
27658 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
27661 active = *group-line
27662 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
27663 group = <non-white-space string>
27665 high-number = <non-negative integer>
27666 low-number = <positive integer>
27667 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
27670 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
27671 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
27674 @node Newsgroups File Format
27675 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
27677 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
27678 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
27679 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
27682 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
27683 Here's the definition:
27687 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
27688 group = <non-white-space string>
27690 description = <string>
27695 @node Emacs for Heathens
27696 @section Emacs for Heathens
27698 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
27699 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
27700 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
27701 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
27702 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
27703 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
27704 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
27708 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
27709 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
27714 @subsection Keystrokes
27718 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
27721 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
27724 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
27725 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
27726 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
27727 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
27728 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
27729 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
27731 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
27732 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
27733 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
27734 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
27735 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
27736 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
27737 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
27739 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
27740 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
27741 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
27742 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
27743 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
27744 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
27745 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
27747 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
27748 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
27749 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
27750 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
27751 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
27757 @subsection Emacs Lisp
27759 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
27760 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
27761 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
27762 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
27764 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
27765 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
27766 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
27767 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
27768 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
27769 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
27770 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
27773 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
27774 write the following:
27777 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
27780 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
27781 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
27782 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
27785 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
27786 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
27787 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
27788 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
27789 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
27791 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
27792 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
27793 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
27797 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
27801 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
27804 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
27805 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
27808 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
27811 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
27812 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
27815 @include gnus-faq.texi
27835 @c Local Variables:
27837 @c coding: iso-8859-1