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14 Copyright @copyright{} 1995-2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
17 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
18 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
19 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
20 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
21 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
22 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
24 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
25 modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
26 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
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309 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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324 @dircategory Emacs network features
326 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
335 @title Gnus Manual (DEVELOPMENT VERSION)
337 @ifclear WEBHACKDEVEL
341 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
343 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 @top The Gnus Newsreader
355 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
356 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
357 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
360 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
361 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.18
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
394 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
395 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.18
397 @heading Other related manuals
399 @item Message manual: Composing messages
400 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
401 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
402 @item PGG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
403 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
409 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
410 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
411 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
412 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
413 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
414 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
415 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
416 * Searching:: Mail and News search engines.
417 * Various:: General purpose settings.
418 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
419 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
420 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
421 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
422 * Key Index:: Key Index.
424 Other related manuals
426 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
427 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
428 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
429 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
430 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
433 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
437 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
473 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
477 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
478 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
479 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
483 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
484 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
485 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
486 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
487 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
491 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
492 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
493 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
494 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
495 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
499 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
500 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
501 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
502 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
503 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
504 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
505 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
506 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
507 * Threading:: How threads are made.
508 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
509 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
510 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
511 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
512 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
513 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
514 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
515 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
516 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
517 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
518 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
519 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
520 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
521 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
522 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
523 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
524 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
525 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
526 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
527 or reselecting the current group.
528 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
529 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
530 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
531 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
533 Summary Buffer Format
535 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
536 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
537 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
538 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
542 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
543 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
545 Reply, Followup and Post
547 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
548 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
549 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
550 * Canceling and Superseding::
554 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
555 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
556 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
557 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
558 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
559 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
563 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
564 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
566 Customizing Threading
568 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
569 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
570 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
571 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
575 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
576 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
577 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
578 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
579 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
580 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
584 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
585 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
586 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
590 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
591 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
592 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
593 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
594 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
595 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
596 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
599 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
600 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
602 Alternative Approaches
604 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
605 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
607 Various Summary Stuff
609 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
610 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
611 * Summary Generation Commands::
612 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
616 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
617 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
618 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
619 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
620 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
624 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
625 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
626 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
627 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
628 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
629 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
630 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
631 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
632 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
636 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
637 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
638 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
642 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
643 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
697 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
698 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
703 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
704 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
705 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
709 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
710 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
711 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
712 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
713 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
717 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
721 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
725 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
726 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
727 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
731 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
732 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
733 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
735 The Gnus Diary Library
737 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
738 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
739 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
740 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
744 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
745 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
746 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
747 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
748 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
749 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
750 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
751 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
752 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
753 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
754 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
755 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
756 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
757 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
761 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
762 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
763 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
767 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
768 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
769 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
773 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
774 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
775 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
776 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
777 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
778 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
779 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
780 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
781 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
782 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
783 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
784 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
785 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
786 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
787 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
788 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
792 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
793 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
794 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
798 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
799 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
803 * What is nnir?:: What does nnir do.
804 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
805 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up nnir.
809 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
813 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
814 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
815 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
816 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
817 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
818 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
819 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
820 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
821 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
822 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
823 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
824 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
825 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
826 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
827 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
828 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
829 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
830 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
831 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
832 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
836 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
837 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
838 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
839 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
840 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
841 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
842 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
843 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
847 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
848 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
849 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
851 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
852 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
853 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
857 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
858 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
859 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
860 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
864 * Spam Package Introduction::
865 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
866 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
867 * Spam and Ham Processors::
868 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
870 * Extending the Spam package::
871 * Spam Statistics Package::
873 Spam Statistics Package
875 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
876 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
877 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
881 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
882 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
883 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
884 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
885 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
886 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
887 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
888 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
889 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
893 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
894 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
895 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
896 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
897 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
898 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
899 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
900 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
904 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
905 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
906 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
907 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
908 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
909 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
910 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
914 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
915 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
916 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
917 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
921 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
922 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
923 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
924 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
925 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
926 * Group Info:: The group info format.
927 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
928 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
929 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
933 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
934 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
935 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
936 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
937 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
938 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
942 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
943 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
947 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
948 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
954 @chapter Starting Gnus
957 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
962 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
963 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
964 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
965 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
966 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
967 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
969 @findex gnus-other-frame
970 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
971 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
972 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
974 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
975 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
976 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
978 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
979 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
982 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
983 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
984 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
985 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
986 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
987 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
988 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
989 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
990 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
994 @node Finding the News
995 @section Finding the News
998 First of all, you should know that there is a special buffer called
999 @code{*Server*} that lists all the servers Gnus knows about. You can
1000 press @kbd{^} from the Group buffer to see it. In the Server buffer,
1001 you can press @kbd{RET} on a defined server to see all the groups it
1002 serves (subscribed or not!). You can also add or delete servers, edit
1003 a foreign server's definition, agentize or de-agentize a server, and
1004 do many other neat things. @xref{Server Buffer}.
1005 @xref{Foreign Groups}. @xref{Agent Basics}.
1007 @vindex gnus-select-method
1009 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1010 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1011 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1012 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1013 secondary or foreign groups.
1015 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1016 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1019 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1022 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1025 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1028 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1029 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1030 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1031 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1033 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1035 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1036 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1037 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1038 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1039 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1040 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1041 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1043 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1045 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1046 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1047 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1048 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1049 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1050 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1052 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1054 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1055 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1056 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1057 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1058 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1059 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1062 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1063 you would typically set this variable to
1066 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1069 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1070 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1071 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1072 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1075 @node The Server is Down
1076 @section The Server is Down
1077 @cindex server errors
1079 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1080 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1081 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1083 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1084 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1085 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1086 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1087 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1088 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1089 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1091 @findex gnus-no-server
1092 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1094 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1095 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1096 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1097 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1098 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1099 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1100 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1104 @section Slave Gnusae
1107 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1108 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1109 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1110 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1112 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1113 @file{.newsrc} file.
1115 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1116 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1117 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1118 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1119 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1120 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1121 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1124 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1125 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1126 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1127 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1128 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1129 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1130 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1131 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1133 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1134 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1136 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1137 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1138 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1139 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1140 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1147 @cindex subscription
1149 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1150 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1151 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1152 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1153 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1154 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1155 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1156 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1157 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1160 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1161 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1162 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1166 @node Checking New Groups
1167 @subsection Checking New Groups
1169 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing
1170 the list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of
1171 subscribed and dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method.
1172 If @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will
1173 ask the server for new groups since the last time. This is both
1174 faster and cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list
1175 of killed groups (@pxref{Group Levels}) altogether, so you may set
1176 @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to @code{nil}, which will save time both
1177 at startup, at exit, and all over. Saves disk space, too. Why isn't
1178 this the default, then? Unfortunately, not all servers support this
1181 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1182 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1183 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1184 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1185 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1186 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1187 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1188 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1189 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1190 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1191 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1193 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1194 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1195 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1196 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1197 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1198 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1201 @node Subscription Methods
1202 @subsection Subscription Methods
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1205 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1206 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1208 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1209 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1211 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1217 Make all new groups zombies (@pxref{Group Levels}). This is the
1218 default. You can browse the zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either
1219 kill them all off properly (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1224 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1225 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1229 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1233 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1234 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1235 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1236 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1237 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1238 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1239 up. Or something like that.
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1243 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1244 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1245 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1249 Kill all new groups.
1251 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1253 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1254 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1255 topic parameter that looks like
1261 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1264 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1270 A closely related variable is
1271 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1272 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1273 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1274 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1277 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1278 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1279 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1280 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1283 @node Filtering New Groups
1284 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1286 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1287 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1288 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1291 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1294 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1295 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1296 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1297 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1298 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1299 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1300 subscribing these groups.
1301 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1302 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1304 The ``options -n'' format is very simplistic. The syntax above is all
1305 that is supports -- you can force-subscribe hierarchies, or you can
1306 deny hierarchies, and that's it.
1308 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1309 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1310 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1311 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1312 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1313 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1314 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1315 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1317 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1318 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1319 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1320 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1321 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1322 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1323 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1324 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1325 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, @code{nnimap}, and
1326 @code{nnmaildir}) subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this
1327 variable to @code{nil}.
1329 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-categories
1330 As if that wasn't enough, @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-categories} also
1331 allows you to specify that new groups should be subscribed based on the
1332 category their select methods belong to. The default is @samp{(mail
1333 post-mail)}, meaning that all new groups from mail-like backends
1334 should be subscribed automatically.
1336 New groups that match these variables are subscribed using
1337 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1340 @node Changing Servers
1341 @section Changing Servers
1342 @cindex changing servers
1344 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1345 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1346 very flaky and you want to use another.
1348 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1349 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1353 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1354 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1355 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1356 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1359 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1360 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1361 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1362 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1365 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1366 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1367 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1368 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1370 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1371 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1372 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1373 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1374 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1375 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1376 cache for all groups).
1380 @section Startup Files
1381 @cindex startup files
1386 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1387 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1388 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1391 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1392 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1393 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1394 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1395 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1396 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1397 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1399 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1400 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1401 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1402 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1403 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1404 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1406 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1407 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1408 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1409 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1410 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1411 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1412 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1413 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1414 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1415 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1416 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1419 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1420 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1421 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1422 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1423 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1424 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1425 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1426 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1427 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1428 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1429 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1430 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1432 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1433 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1434 @vindex version-control
1435 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1436 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1437 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1438 If you want to keep multiple numbered backups of this file, set
1439 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1440 @code{version-control} variable.
1442 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1443 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1444 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1445 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1446 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1447 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1448 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1449 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1450 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1451 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1454 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1455 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1457 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1458 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1461 @vindex gnus-init-file
1462 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1463 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1464 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1465 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1466 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1467 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1468 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1469 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1470 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1471 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1472 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1473 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1474 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1479 @cindex dribble file
1482 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1483 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1484 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1485 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1486 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1489 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1490 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1493 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1494 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1495 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1497 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1498 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1499 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1500 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1501 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1502 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1504 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1505 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1506 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1509 @node The Active File
1510 @section The Active File
1512 @cindex ignored groups
1514 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1515 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1516 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1518 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1519 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1520 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1521 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1522 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1523 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1524 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1527 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1528 @c if you set it to anything else.
1530 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1532 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1533 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1534 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1536 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1537 you actually subscribe to.
1539 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1540 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1541 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1542 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1544 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1545 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1546 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1547 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1548 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1549 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1551 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1552 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1553 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1556 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1557 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1558 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1559 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1560 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1561 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1563 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1564 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1566 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1567 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1569 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1570 secondary select methods.
1573 @node Startup Variables
1574 @section Startup Variables
1578 @item gnus-load-hook
1579 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1580 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1581 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1582 times you start Gnus.
1584 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1586 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1588 @item gnus-startup-hook
1589 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1590 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1592 @item gnus-started-hook
1593 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1594 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1597 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1598 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1599 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1600 generating the group buffer.
1602 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1603 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1604 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1605 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1606 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1607 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1608 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1609 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1611 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1612 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1613 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1614 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1615 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1616 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1618 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1619 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1620 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1622 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1623 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1624 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1625 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1626 group operation some.
1632 @chapter Group Buffer
1633 @cindex group buffer
1635 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1637 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1638 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1639 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1640 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1641 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1642 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1643 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1644 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1645 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1646 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1647 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1648 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1649 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1650 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1651 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1652 @c human rights at 9...
1655 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1656 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1657 long as Gnus is active.
1661 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1662 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1663 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1664 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1665 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1666 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1667 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1668 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1674 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1675 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1676 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1677 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1678 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1679 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1680 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1681 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1682 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1683 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1684 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1685 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1686 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1687 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1688 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1689 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1690 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1691 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1695 @node Group Buffer Format
1696 @section Group Buffer Format
1699 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1700 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1701 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1704 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1705 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1708 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1709 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1710 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1711 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1714 @node Group Line Specification
1715 @subsection Group Line Specification
1716 @cindex group buffer format
1718 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1719 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1721 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1724 25: news.announce.newusers
1725 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1730 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1731 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1732 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1733 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1735 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1736 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1737 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1738 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1739 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1740 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1742 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1744 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1745 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1746 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1747 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1748 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1750 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1751 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1752 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1754 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1759 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1762 Whether the group is subscribed.
1765 Level of subscribedness.
1768 Number of unread articles.
1771 Number of dormant articles.
1774 Number of ticked articles.
1777 Number of read articles.
1780 Number of unseen articles.
1783 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1784 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1786 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1787 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1788 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1789 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1790 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1791 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1792 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1794 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1795 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1796 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1797 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1798 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1799 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1800 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1803 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1806 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1815 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1816 comment element in the group parameters.
1819 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1820 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1821 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1825 @samp{m} if moderated.
1828 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1834 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1840 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1844 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1847 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1848 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1849 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1850 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1851 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1854 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1856 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1860 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1863 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1867 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1868 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1869 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1870 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1873 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1874 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1875 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1876 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1877 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1878 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1883 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1884 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1885 group, or a bogus native group.
1888 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1889 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1890 @cindex group mode line
1892 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1893 The mode line can be changed by setting
1894 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1895 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1899 The native news server.
1901 The native select method.
1905 @node Group Highlighting
1906 @subsection Group Highlighting
1907 @cindex highlighting
1908 @cindex group highlighting
1910 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1911 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1912 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1913 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1914 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1916 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1920 (cond (window-system
1921 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1922 (defface my-group-face-1
1923 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1924 (defface my-group-face-2
1925 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1926 "Second group face")
1927 (defface my-group-face-3
1928 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1929 (defface my-group-face-4
1930 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1931 (defface my-group-face-5
1932 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1934 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1935 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1936 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1937 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1938 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1939 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1942 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1944 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1951 The number of unread articles in the group.
1955 Whether the group is a mail group.
1957 The level of the group.
1959 The score of the group.
1961 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1963 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1964 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1966 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1967 topic being inserted.
1970 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1971 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1972 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1974 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1975 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1976 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1977 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1980 @node Group Maneuvering
1981 @section Group Maneuvering
1982 @cindex group movement
1984 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1985 expected, hopefully.
1991 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1992 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1993 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1999 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2000 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2001 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2005 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2006 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2010 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2011 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2015 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2016 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2017 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2021 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2022 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2023 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2026 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2032 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2033 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2034 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2039 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2040 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2041 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2046 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2047 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2050 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2051 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2052 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2053 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2056 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2057 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2058 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2059 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2062 @node Selecting a Group
2063 @section Selecting a Group
2064 @cindex group selection
2069 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2070 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2071 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2072 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2073 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2074 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2075 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2076 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2077 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2078 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2080 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2081 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2082 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2084 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2085 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2090 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2091 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2092 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2093 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2094 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2098 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2099 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2100 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2101 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2102 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2103 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2104 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2105 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2106 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2107 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2110 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2111 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2112 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2113 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2114 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2117 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2118 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2119 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2120 doing any processing of its contents
2121 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2122 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2123 manner will have no permanent effects.
2127 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2128 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2129 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2130 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2131 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2132 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2133 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2134 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2135 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2136 most recently will be fetched.
2138 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2139 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2140 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2143 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2144 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2145 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2146 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2147 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2148 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2149 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2150 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2151 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2152 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2153 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2154 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2155 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2156 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2157 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2158 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2159 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2161 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2162 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2163 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2164 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2165 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2166 Which article this is controlled by the
2167 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2173 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2176 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2179 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2181 @item unseen-or-unread
2182 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2183 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2187 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2191 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2192 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2194 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2195 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2196 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2197 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2201 @node Subscription Commands
2202 @section Subscription Commands
2203 @cindex subscription
2205 The following commands allow for managing your subscriptions in the
2206 Group buffer. If you want to subscribe to many groups, it's probably
2207 more convenient to go to the @ref{Server Buffer}, and choose the
2208 server there using @kbd{RET} or @kbd{SPC}. Then you'll have the
2209 commands listed in @ref{Browse Foreign Server} at hand.
2217 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2218 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2219 Toggle subscription to the current group
2220 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2226 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2227 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2228 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2229 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2236 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2237 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2243 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2244 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2247 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2248 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2249 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2250 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2251 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2257 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2258 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2262 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2263 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2266 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2267 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2268 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2269 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2270 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2271 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2272 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2273 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2274 @file{.newsrc} file.
2278 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2288 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2289 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2290 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2291 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2292 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2293 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2298 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2299 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2300 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2304 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2305 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2306 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2308 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2309 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2310 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2311 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2312 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2313 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2320 @section Group Levels
2324 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2325 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2326 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2327 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2328 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2330 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2336 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2337 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2338 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2339 prompted for a level.
2342 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2343 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2344 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2345 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2346 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2347 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2348 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2349 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2350 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2351 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2352 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2353 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2354 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2355 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2356 reasons of efficiency.
2358 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2359 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2361 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2362 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2363 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2364 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2365 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2366 groups are hidden, in a way.
2368 @cindex zombie groups
2369 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2370 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2371 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2372 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2373 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2374 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2376 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2377 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2378 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2379 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2380 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2381 list of killed groups.)
2383 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2384 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2385 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2387 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2388 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2389 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2390 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2391 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2392 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2393 relevant valid ranges.
2395 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2396 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2397 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2398 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2399 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2400 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2403 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2404 one with the best level.
2406 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2407 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2408 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2410 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2411 be called and the result will be used as value.
2414 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2415 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2416 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2417 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2420 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2421 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2422 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2423 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2425 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2426 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2427 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2428 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2429 to 5. The default is 6.
2433 @section Group Score
2438 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2439 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2440 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2443 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2444 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2445 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2446 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2447 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2448 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2449 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2450 least significant part.))
2452 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2453 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2454 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2455 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2456 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2457 action after each summary exit, you can add
2458 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2459 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2460 slow things down somewhat.
2463 @node Marking Groups
2464 @section Marking Groups
2465 @cindex marking groups
2467 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2468 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2469 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2470 bidding on those groups.
2472 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2473 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2474 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2482 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2483 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2489 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2490 Remove the mark from the current group
2491 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2496 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2500 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2501 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2505 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2506 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2511 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2512 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2515 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2517 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2518 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2519 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2520 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2521 the command to be executed.
2524 @node Foreign Groups
2525 @section Foreign Groups
2526 @cindex foreign groups
2528 If you recall how to subscribe to servers (@pxref{Finding the News})
2529 you will remember that @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} and
2530 @code{gnus-select-method} let you write a definition in Emacs Lisp of
2531 what servers you want to see when you start up. The alternate
2532 approach is to use foreign servers and groups. ``Foreign'' here means
2533 they are not coming from the select methods. All foreign server
2534 configuration and subscriptions are stored only in the
2535 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file.
2537 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2538 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2539 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2540 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2543 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2544 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2545 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2551 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2552 @cindex making groups
2553 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2554 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2555 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2559 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2560 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2561 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2565 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2566 @cindex renaming groups
2567 Rename the current group to something else
2568 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2569 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2575 @findex gnus-group-customize
2576 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2580 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2581 @cindex renaming groups
2582 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2583 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2587 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2588 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2589 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2593 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2594 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2595 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2599 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2601 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2602 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2607 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2608 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2612 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2614 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2615 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2616 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2620 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2621 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2623 Make a group based on some file or other
2624 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2625 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2626 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2627 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2628 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2629 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2630 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2631 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2632 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2636 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2637 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2638 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2639 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2643 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2647 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2648 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2649 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2650 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2651 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2652 @xref{Web Searches}.
2654 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2655 to a particular group by using a match string like
2656 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2660 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2661 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2662 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2666 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2667 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2668 This function will delete the current group
2669 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2670 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2671 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2672 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2673 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2677 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2678 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2679 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2683 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2684 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2685 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2688 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2691 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2692 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2693 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2694 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2695 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2696 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2700 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2701 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2704 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2705 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2706 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2707 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2708 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2709 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2712 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2713 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2714 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2715 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2716 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2717 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2718 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2719 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2720 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2721 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2723 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2724 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2725 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2726 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2727 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2729 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2730 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2731 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2732 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2735 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2743 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2744 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2745 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2749 @node Group Parameters
2750 @section Group Parameters
2751 @cindex group parameters
2753 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2755 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2756 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2757 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2758 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2759 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2760 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2761 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2763 Here's an example group parameter list:
2766 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2770 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2771 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2772 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2773 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2775 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2776 is an alist of regexps and values.
2778 The following group parameters can be used:
2783 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2786 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2789 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2790 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2791 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2792 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2793 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2795 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2796 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2797 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2798 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2799 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2800 list address instead.
2802 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2806 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2809 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2812 It is totally ignored
2813 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2814 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2816 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2817 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2818 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2819 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2820 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2822 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2823 @cindex mail list groups
2824 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2825 entering summary buffer.
2827 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2832 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2833 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2834 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2835 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2836 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2837 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2838 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2839 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2842 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2843 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2846 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2847 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2851 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2852 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2853 of whether it has any unread articles.
2855 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2856 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2858 @item broken-reply-to
2859 @cindex broken-reply-to
2860 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2861 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2862 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2863 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2864 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2865 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2869 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2870 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2874 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2875 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2876 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2881 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2882 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2883 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2884 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2885 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2886 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2887 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2889 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2890 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2891 doesn't accept articles.
2895 @cindex expiring mail
2896 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2897 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2898 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2900 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2903 @cindex total-expire
2904 @cindex expiring mail
2905 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2906 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2907 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2908 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2911 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2915 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2916 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2917 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2918 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2919 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2920 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2921 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2924 @cindex expiry-target
2925 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2926 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2929 @cindex score file group parameter
2930 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2931 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2932 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2935 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2936 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2937 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2938 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2941 @cindex admin-address
2942 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2943 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2944 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2945 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2949 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2950 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2954 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2957 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2958 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2961 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2965 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2967 Here are some examples:
2971 Display only unread articles.
2974 Display everything except expirable articles.
2976 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2977 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2981 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2982 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2983 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2984 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2985 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, and @code{unseen}.
2989 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2990 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2991 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2995 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2996 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2997 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
3001 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
3002 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
3003 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
3005 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
3007 @item ignored-charsets
3008 @cindex ignored-charset
3009 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3010 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3011 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3013 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3016 @cindex posting-style
3017 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3018 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3019 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3020 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3021 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3023 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3024 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3025 like this in the group parameters:
3030 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3031 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3034 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3035 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3036 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3037 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3038 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3039 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3045 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3046 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3050 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3051 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3052 mail source for this group.
3056 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3057 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3058 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3059 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3060 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3064 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3065 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3066 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3067 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3069 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3070 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3071 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3072 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3075 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3076 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3080 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3081 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3082 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3083 like the following is generated:
3086 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3087 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3091 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3092 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3094 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3095 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3097 @item (agent parameters)
3098 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of its parameters to
3099 control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3100 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3101 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3102 minimize the configuration effort.
3104 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3105 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3106 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3107 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3108 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3109 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3110 @code{eval}ed there.
3112 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3113 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3114 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3115 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3116 form needs to be set to it.
3118 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3119 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3120 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3121 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3122 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3123 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3124 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3127 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3130 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3131 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3132 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3135 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3138 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3139 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3140 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3141 into the group parameters for the group.
3143 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3144 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3145 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3146 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3147 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3149 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3150 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3151 following is added to a group parameter
3154 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3155 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3158 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3163 @vindex gnus-parameters
3164 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3165 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3166 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3170 (setq gnus-parameters
3172 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3173 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3174 (gnus-summary-line-format
3175 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3179 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3183 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3187 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3190 All clauses that matches the group name will be used, but the last
3191 setting ``wins''. So if you have two clauses that both match the
3192 group name, and both set, say @code{display}, the last setting will
3195 Parameters that are strings will be subjected to regexp substitution,
3196 as the @code{to-group} example shows.
3198 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3199 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3200 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3201 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3202 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3203 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3204 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3205 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3206 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3207 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3208 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3209 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3211 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3212 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3213 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3214 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3215 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3216 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3217 weekly news RSS feed
3218 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3224 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3225 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3226 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3227 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3228 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3230 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3231 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3232 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3233 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3234 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3235 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3239 @node Listing Groups
3240 @section Listing Groups
3241 @cindex group listing
3243 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3251 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3252 List all groups that have unread articles
3253 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3254 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3255 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3256 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3263 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3264 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3265 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3266 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3267 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3268 unsubscribed groups).
3272 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3273 List all unread groups on a specific level
3274 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3275 with no unread articles.
3279 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3280 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3281 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3282 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3287 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3288 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3292 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3293 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3294 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3298 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3299 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3303 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3304 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3305 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3306 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3307 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3308 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3309 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3310 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3314 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3315 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3316 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3320 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3321 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3322 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3326 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3327 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3331 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3332 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3336 @findex gnus-group-list-ticked
3337 List all groups with ticked articles (@code{gnus-group-list-ticked}).
3341 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3342 Further limit groups within the current selection
3343 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}). If you've first limited to groups
3344 with dormant articles with @kbd{A ?}, you can then further limit with
3345 @kbd{A / c}, which will then limit to groups with cached articles,
3346 giving you the groups that have both dormant articles and cached
3351 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3352 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3356 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3357 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3361 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3362 @cindex visible group parameter
3363 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3364 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3365 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3366 get the same effect.
3368 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3369 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3370 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3371 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3372 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3375 @node Sorting Groups
3376 @section Sorting Groups
3377 @cindex sorting groups
3379 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3380 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3381 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3382 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3383 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3384 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3389 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3390 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3391 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3393 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3394 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3395 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3397 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3398 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3399 Sort by group level.
3401 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3403 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3405 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3406 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3407 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3408 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3410 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3411 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3412 Sort by number of unread articles.
3414 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3415 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3416 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3418 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3419 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3420 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3425 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3426 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3430 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3431 some sorting criteria:
3435 @kindex G S a (Group)
3436 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3437 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3438 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3441 @kindex G S u (Group)
3442 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3443 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3444 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3447 @kindex G S l (Group)
3448 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3449 Sort the group buffer by group level
3450 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3453 @kindex G S v (Group)
3454 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3455 Sort the group buffer by group score
3456 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3459 @kindex G S r (Group)
3460 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3461 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3462 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3465 @kindex G S m (Group)
3466 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3467 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3468 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3471 @kindex G S n (Group)
3472 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3473 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3474 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3478 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3479 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3481 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3482 commands will sort in reverse order.
3484 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3488 @kindex G P a (Group)
3489 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3490 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3491 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3494 @kindex G P u (Group)
3495 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3496 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3497 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3500 @kindex G P l (Group)
3501 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3502 Sort the groups by group level
3503 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3506 @kindex G P v (Group)
3507 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3508 Sort the groups by group score
3509 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3512 @kindex G P r (Group)
3513 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3514 Sort the groups by group rank
3515 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3518 @kindex G P m (Group)
3519 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3520 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3521 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3524 @kindex G P n (Group)
3525 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3526 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3527 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3530 @kindex G P s (Group)
3531 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3532 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3536 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3540 @node Group Maintenance
3541 @section Group Maintenance
3542 @cindex bogus groups
3547 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3548 Find bogus groups and delete them
3549 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3553 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3554 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3555 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3556 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3557 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3561 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3562 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3563 @cindex expiring mail
3564 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3565 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3566 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3567 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3570 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3571 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3572 @cindex expiring mail
3573 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3574 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3579 @node Browse Foreign Server
3580 @section Browse Foreign Server
3581 @cindex foreign servers
3582 @cindex browsing servers
3587 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3588 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3589 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3590 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3593 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3594 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3595 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3596 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3598 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3603 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3604 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3608 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3609 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3612 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3613 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3614 Enter the current group and display the first article
3615 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3618 @kindex RET (Browse)
3619 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3620 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3624 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3625 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3626 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3627 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3628 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3629 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3630 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3636 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3637 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3641 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3642 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3646 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3647 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3648 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3653 @section Exiting Gnus
3654 @cindex exiting Gnus
3656 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3661 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3662 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3663 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3664 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3668 @findex gnus-group-exit
3669 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3670 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3674 @findex gnus-group-quit
3675 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3676 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3679 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3680 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3681 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3682 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3683 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3684 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3690 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3691 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3692 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3698 @section Group Topics
3701 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3702 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3703 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3704 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3705 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3706 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3710 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3711 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3722 2: alt.religion.emacs
3725 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3727 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3728 13: comp.sources.unix
3731 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3733 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3734 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3735 is a toggling command.)
3737 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3738 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3739 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3740 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3743 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3744 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3745 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3748 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3752 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3753 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3754 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3755 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3756 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3760 @node Topic Commands
3761 @subsection Topic Commands
3762 @cindex topic commands
3764 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3765 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3766 definitions slightly.
3768 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3769 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3770 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3771 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3772 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3773 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3775 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3782 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3783 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3788 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3790 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3791 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3792 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3793 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3796 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3797 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3798 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3799 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3803 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3804 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3805 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3806 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3812 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3813 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3814 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3818 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3819 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3820 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3823 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3824 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3825 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3826 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3827 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3829 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3830 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3834 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3835 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3842 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3844 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3845 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3846 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3847 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3848 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3849 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3853 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3859 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3860 Move the current group to some other topic
3861 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3862 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3866 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3867 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3871 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3872 Copy the current group to some other topic
3873 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3874 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3878 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3879 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3880 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3884 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3885 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3886 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3890 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3891 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3892 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3893 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3894 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3895 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3896 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3899 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3900 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3904 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3905 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3906 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3910 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3911 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3912 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3916 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3917 Toggle hiding empty topics
3918 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3922 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3923 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3924 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3925 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3928 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3929 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3930 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3931 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3932 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3935 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3936 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3937 @cindex expiring mail
3938 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3939 expiry process (if any)
3940 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3944 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3945 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3948 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3949 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3950 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3954 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3955 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3956 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3959 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3960 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3961 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3964 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3965 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3966 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3970 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3971 @cindex group parameters
3972 @cindex topic parameters
3974 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3975 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3980 @node Topic Variables
3981 @subsection Topic Variables
3982 @cindex topic variables
3984 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3985 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3987 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3988 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3989 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4002 Number of groups in the topic.
4004 Number of unread articles in the topic.
4006 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
4009 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
4010 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
4011 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
4014 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
4015 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
4017 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
4018 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
4019 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
4023 @subsection Topic Sorting
4024 @cindex topic sorting
4026 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4032 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4033 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4034 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4035 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4038 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4039 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4040 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4041 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4044 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4045 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4046 Sort the current topic by group level
4047 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4050 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4051 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4052 Sort the current topic by group score
4053 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4056 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4057 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4058 Sort the current topic by group rank
4059 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4062 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4063 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4064 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4065 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4068 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4069 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4070 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4071 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4074 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4075 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4076 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4077 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4078 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4082 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4083 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4087 @node Topic Topology
4088 @subsection Topic Topology
4089 @cindex topic topology
4092 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4099 2: alt.religion.emacs
4102 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4104 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4105 13: comp.sources.unix
4109 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4110 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4111 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4116 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4117 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4121 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4122 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4123 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4124 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4125 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4126 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4128 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4129 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4130 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4133 @node Topic Parameters
4134 @subsection Topic Parameters
4135 @cindex topic parameters
4137 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4138 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4139 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4140 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4141 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4143 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4148 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4149 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4150 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4153 @item subscribe-level
4154 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4155 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4156 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4160 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4161 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4162 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4163 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4170 2: alt.religion.emacs
4174 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4176 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4177 13: comp.sources.unix
4182 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4183 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4184 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4185 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4186 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4187 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4189 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4190 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4191 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4192 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4193 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4195 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4196 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4197 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4198 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4199 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4200 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4201 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4202 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4205 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4206 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4207 @cindex non-ascii group names
4209 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4210 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4211 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4212 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4213 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4214 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4215 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4218 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4219 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4220 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4221 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4222 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4223 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4224 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4225 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4228 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4229 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4230 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4231 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4232 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4235 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4236 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4239 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4240 ones specified for the same groups with the
4241 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4243 A select method can be very long, like:
4247 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4248 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4249 (nntp-open-connection-function
4250 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4251 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4252 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4253 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4254 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4257 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4258 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4261 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4262 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4263 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4264 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4265 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4266 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4269 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4270 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4274 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4275 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4278 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4279 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4280 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4281 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4282 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4283 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4285 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4289 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4290 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4291 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4292 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4293 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4294 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4296 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4297 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4298 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4299 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4300 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4301 names and directory names.
4303 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4304 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4305 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4306 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4307 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4308 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4310 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4311 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4312 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4313 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4315 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4316 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4317 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4318 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4320 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4321 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4322 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4323 typical case where you have to customize
4324 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4325 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4326 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4327 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4330 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4331 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4332 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4333 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4336 @node Misc Group Stuff
4337 @section Misc Group Stuff
4340 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4341 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4342 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4343 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4344 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4351 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4352 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4353 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4356 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4359 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4362 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4363 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4367 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4368 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4369 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4373 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4374 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4375 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4376 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4377 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4378 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4379 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4383 @findex gnus-group-mail
4384 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4385 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4386 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4387 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4391 @findex gnus-group-news
4392 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4393 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4394 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4396 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4397 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4398 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4399 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4400 for this to work though.
4404 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4406 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4407 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4408 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4413 Variables for the group buffer:
4417 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4418 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4419 is called after the group buffer has been
4422 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4423 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4424 is called after the group buffer is
4425 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4428 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4429 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4430 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4431 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4433 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4434 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4435 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4436 whether they are empty or not.
4440 @node Scanning New Messages
4441 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4442 @cindex new messages
4443 @cindex scanning new news
4449 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4450 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4451 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4452 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4453 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4454 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4459 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4460 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4461 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4462 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4463 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4464 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4465 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4467 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4468 @cindex activating groups
4470 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4471 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4476 @findex gnus-group-restart
4477 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4478 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4479 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4483 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4484 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4486 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4487 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4491 @node Group Information
4492 @subsection Group Information
4493 @cindex group information
4494 @cindex information on groups
4501 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4503 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4504 @cindex describing groups
4505 @cindex group description
4506 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4507 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4508 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4512 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4513 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4514 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4521 @findex gnus-version
4522 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4526 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4527 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4530 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4533 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4534 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4538 @node Group Timestamp
4539 @subsection Group Timestamp
4541 @cindex group timestamps
4543 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4544 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4545 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4548 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4551 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4553 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4554 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4557 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4558 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4561 This will result in lines looking like:
4564 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4565 0: custom 19961002T012713
4568 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4569 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4573 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4574 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4577 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4578 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4582 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4583 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4584 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4585 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4587 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4593 @subsection File Commands
4594 @cindex file commands
4600 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4601 @vindex gnus-init-file
4602 @cindex reading init file
4603 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4604 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4608 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4609 @cindex saving .newsrc
4610 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4611 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4612 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4615 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4616 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4617 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4622 @node Sieve Commands
4623 @subsection Sieve Commands
4624 @cindex group sieve commands
4626 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4627 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4628 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4629 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4630 script that can be transferred to the server somehow.
4632 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4633 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4634 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4635 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4636 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4637 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4638 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4639 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4640 regenerate the Sieve script.
4642 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4643 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4644 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4645 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4646 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4647 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4648 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4649 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4650 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4651 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4654 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4655 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4660 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4666 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4667 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4668 @cindex generating sieve script
4669 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4670 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4674 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4675 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4676 @cindex updating sieve script
4677 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4678 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4679 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4684 @node Summary Buffer
4685 @chapter Summary Buffer
4686 @cindex summary buffer
4688 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4689 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4691 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4692 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4694 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4696 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4697 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4701 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4702 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4703 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4705 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4709 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4710 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4711 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4712 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4713 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4714 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4715 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4716 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4717 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4718 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4719 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4720 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4721 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4722 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
4723 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4724 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4725 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4726 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4727 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4728 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4729 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4730 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4731 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4732 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4733 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4734 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4735 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4736 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4737 or reselecting the current group.
4738 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4739 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4740 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4741 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4745 @node Summary Buffer Format
4746 @section Summary Buffer Format
4747 @cindex summary buffer format
4751 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4752 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4753 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4759 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4760 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4761 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4762 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4765 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4766 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4767 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4768 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4769 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4770 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4771 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4772 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4773 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4774 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4775 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4778 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4779 'mail-extract-address-components)
4782 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4783 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4784 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4785 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4788 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4789 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4791 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4792 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4793 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4794 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4795 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4797 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4798 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4799 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4800 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4801 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4802 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4804 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4806 The following format specification characters and extended format
4807 specification(s) are understood:
4813 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4814 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4816 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4817 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4818 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4820 Full @code{From} header.
4822 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4824 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4827 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4828 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4829 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4830 may be more thorough.
4832 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4835 Number of lines in the article.
4837 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4838 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4840 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4841 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4843 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4845 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4846 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4859 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4860 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4861 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4862 line-drawing glyphs.
4864 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4865 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4866 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4867 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4869 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4870 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4871 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4872 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4874 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4875 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4876 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4877 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4879 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4880 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4881 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4883 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4884 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4885 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4887 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4888 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4889 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4891 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4892 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4893 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4898 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4899 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4901 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4902 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4904 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4905 for adopted articles.
4907 One space for each thread level.
4909 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4911 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4914 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4915 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4916 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4919 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4921 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4922 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4923 default level. If the difference between
4924 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4925 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4933 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4935 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4941 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4942 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4944 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4945 article has any children.
4951 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4953 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4954 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4956 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4957 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4958 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4959 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4960 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4961 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4964 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4965 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4966 There can only be one such area.
4968 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4969 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4970 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4971 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4972 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4973 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4975 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4976 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4978 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4981 @node To From Newsgroups
4982 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4986 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4987 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4988 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4989 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4990 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4994 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4995 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4996 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5000 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5001 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5004 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5005 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5008 @findex gnus-extra-header
5009 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5010 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5011 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5014 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5018 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5019 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5020 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5021 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5022 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5023 headers are used instead.
5025 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5026 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5027 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5028 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5029 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5030 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5034 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5035 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5036 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5037 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5038 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5039 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5042 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5043 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5044 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5045 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5047 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5051 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5053 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5054 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5055 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5056 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5060 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5063 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5064 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5067 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5068 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5069 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5075 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5076 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5079 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5080 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5082 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5083 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5084 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5085 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5087 Here are the elements you can play with:
5093 Unprefixed group name.
5095 Current article number.
5097 Current article score.
5101 Number of unread articles in this group.
5103 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5106 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5107 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5108 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5109 and no unselected ones.
5111 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5112 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5114 Subject of the current article.
5116 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5118 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5120 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5122 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5124 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5126 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5130 @node Summary Highlighting
5131 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5135 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5136 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5137 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5138 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5139 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5141 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5142 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5143 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5144 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5146 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5147 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5148 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5149 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5151 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5152 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5153 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5154 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5155 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5156 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5159 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5160 ((> score default) . bold))
5162 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5163 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5167 @node Summary Maneuvering
5168 @section Summary Maneuvering
5169 @cindex summary movement
5171 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5172 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5174 None of these commands select articles.
5179 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5180 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5182 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5183 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5187 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5188 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5190 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5191 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5194 @kindex G g (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5196 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5197 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5200 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5201 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5202 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5203 to the group buffer.
5205 Variables related to summary movement:
5209 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5210 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5211 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5212 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5213 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5214 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5215 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5216 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5217 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5218 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5219 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5220 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5221 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5222 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5224 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5225 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5226 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5227 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5228 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5229 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5230 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5232 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5234 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5235 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5236 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5237 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5238 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5240 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5241 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5242 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5243 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5244 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5245 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5246 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5247 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5250 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5251 the given number of lines from the top.
5253 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5254 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5255 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5256 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5261 @node Choosing Articles
5262 @section Choosing Articles
5263 @cindex selecting articles
5266 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5267 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5271 @node Choosing Commands
5272 @subsection Choosing Commands
5274 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5275 and they all select and display an article.
5277 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5278 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5282 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5284 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5285 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5287 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5288 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5289 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5294 @kindex G n (Summary)
5295 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5296 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5297 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5302 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5303 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5304 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5309 @kindex G N (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5311 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5316 @kindex G P (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5318 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5321 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5323 Go to the next article with the same subject
5324 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5327 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5329 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5330 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5334 @kindex G f (Summary)
5336 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5337 Go to the first unread article
5338 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5342 @kindex G b (Summary)
5344 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5345 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5346 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5347 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5352 @kindex G l (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5354 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5357 @kindex G o (Summary)
5358 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5360 @cindex article history
5361 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5362 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5363 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5364 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5365 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5366 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5371 @kindex G j (Summary)
5372 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5373 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5374 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5379 @node Choosing Variables
5380 @subsection Choosing Variables
5382 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5385 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5386 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5387 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5388 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5389 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5390 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5392 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5393 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5394 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5395 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5396 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5399 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5400 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5401 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5402 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5403 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5404 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5405 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5406 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5407 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5408 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5409 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5410 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5411 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5412 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5417 @node Paging the Article
5418 @section Scrolling the Article
5419 @cindex article scrolling
5424 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5425 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5426 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5427 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5428 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5430 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5431 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5432 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5433 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5434 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5435 what is considered uninteresting with
5436 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5437 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5440 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5441 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5442 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5445 @kindex RET (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5447 Scroll the current article one line forward
5448 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5451 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5453 Scroll the current article one line backward
5454 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5458 @kindex A g (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5461 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5462 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5463 given a prefix, show a completely ``raw'' article, just the way it
5464 came from the server. If given a prefix twice (i.e., @kbd{C-u C-u
5465 g'}), fetch the current article, but don't run any of the article
5466 treatment functions.
5468 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
5469 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5470 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5471 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5474 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5479 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5484 @kindex A < (Summary)
5485 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5486 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5487 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5492 @kindex A > (Summary)
5493 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5494 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5498 @kindex A s (Summary)
5500 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5501 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5502 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5506 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5507 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5512 @node Reply Followup and Post
5513 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5516 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5517 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5518 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5519 * Canceling and Superseding::
5523 @node Summary Mail Commands
5524 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5526 @cindex composing mail
5528 Commands for composing a mail message:
5534 @kindex S r (Summary)
5536 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5537 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5538 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5539 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5540 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5545 @kindex S R (Summary)
5546 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5547 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5548 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5549 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5550 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5553 @kindex S w (Summary)
5554 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5555 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5556 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5557 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5558 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5559 present, that's used instead.
5562 @kindex S W (Summary)
5563 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5564 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5565 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5566 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
5567 first article to determine the recipients.
5570 @kindex S L (Summary)
5571 @findex gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original
5572 When replying to a message from a mailing list, send a reply to that
5573 message to the mailing list, and include the original message
5574 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original}).
5577 @kindex S v (Summary)
5578 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5579 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5580 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5581 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5582 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5583 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5586 @kindex S V (Summary)
5587 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5588 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5589 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5590 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5593 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5594 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5595 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5596 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5597 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5598 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5599 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5600 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5603 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5604 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5605 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5606 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5607 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5611 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5612 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5613 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5614 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5615 Forward the current article to some other person
5616 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5617 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5618 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5619 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5620 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5621 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5622 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5623 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5624 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5630 @kindex S m (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5632 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5633 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5634 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5635 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5638 @kindex S i (Summary)
5639 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5640 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5641 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5642 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5644 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5645 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5646 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5647 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5648 for this to work though.
5651 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5653 @cindex bouncing mail
5654 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5655 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5656 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5657 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5658 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5659 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5660 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5661 very well fail, though.
5664 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5665 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5666 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5667 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5668 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5669 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5670 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5671 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5672 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5673 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5675 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5676 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5677 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5678 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5679 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5681 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5682 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5685 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5686 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5688 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5689 if it were a new message before resending.
5692 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5693 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5694 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5695 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5696 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5699 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5700 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5701 @cindex crossposting
5702 @cindex excessive crossposting
5703 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5704 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5706 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5707 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5708 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5709 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5710 command understands the process/prefix convention
5711 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5715 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5716 Manual}, for more information.
5719 @node Summary Post Commands
5720 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5722 @cindex composing news
5724 Commands for posting a news article:
5730 @kindex S p (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5732 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5733 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5734 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5735 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5740 @kindex S f (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5742 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5743 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5747 @kindex S F (Summary)
5749 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5750 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5751 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5752 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5753 process/prefix convention.
5756 @kindex S n (Summary)
5757 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5758 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5759 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5762 @kindex S N (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5764 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5765 message through mail and include the original message
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5767 the process/prefix convention.
5770 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5771 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5772 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5773 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5774 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5775 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5776 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5777 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5778 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5779 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5780 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5781 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5782 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5785 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5786 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5788 @cindex making digests
5789 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5790 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5791 process/prefix convention.
5794 @kindex S u (Summary)
5795 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5796 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5797 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5798 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5801 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5802 Manual}, for more information.
5805 @node Summary Message Commands
5806 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5810 @kindex S y (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5812 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5813 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5814 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5815 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5820 @node Canceling and Superseding
5821 @subsection Canceling Articles
5822 @cindex canceling articles
5823 @cindex superseding articles
5825 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5826 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5828 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5830 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5832 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5833 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5834 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5835 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5836 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5837 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5839 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5840 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5843 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5844 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5845 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5847 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5848 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5849 message, Message Manual}).
5851 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5852 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5853 your original article.
5855 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5857 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5858 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5859 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5862 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5863 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5864 have posted almost the same article twice.
5866 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5867 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5868 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5869 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5870 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5871 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5872 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5873 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5874 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5875 canceled/superseded.
5877 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5879 @node Delayed Articles
5880 @section Delayed Articles
5881 @cindex delayed sending
5882 @cindex send delayed
5884 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5885 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5886 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5887 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5890 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5893 @findex gnus-delay-article
5894 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5895 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5896 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5897 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5901 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5902 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5903 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5904 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5907 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5908 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5909 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5912 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5913 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5914 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5915 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5916 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5917 that means a time tomorrow.
5920 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5921 couple of variables:
5924 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5925 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5926 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5927 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5929 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5930 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5931 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5932 formats described above.
5934 @item gnus-delay-group
5935 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5936 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5937 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5938 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5940 @item gnus-delay-header
5941 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5942 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5943 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5944 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5947 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5948 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5949 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5950 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5951 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5953 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5954 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5955 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5956 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5957 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5958 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5959 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5962 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5963 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5964 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5965 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5966 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5967 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5968 argument is ignored.
5970 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5971 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5972 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5975 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
5976 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
5977 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
5978 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
5979 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
5982 @node Marking Articles
5983 @section Marking Articles
5984 @cindex article marking
5985 @cindex article ticking
5988 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5990 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5991 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5992 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5994 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5997 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6001 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6002 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6003 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6004 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6005 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6006 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6010 @node Unread Articles
6011 @subsection Unread Articles
6013 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6018 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6019 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6021 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6022 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6023 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6024 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6025 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6026 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6027 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6030 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6031 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6033 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6034 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6035 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6036 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6040 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6041 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6043 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6048 @subsection Read Articles
6049 @cindex expirable mark
6051 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6056 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6057 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6058 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6061 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6062 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6065 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6066 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6067 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6070 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6071 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6074 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6075 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6078 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6079 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6082 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6083 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6086 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6087 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6090 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6091 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6095 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6096 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6097 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6101 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6102 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6104 One more special mark, though:
6108 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6109 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6111 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6112 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6113 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6114 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6120 @subsection Other Marks
6121 @cindex process mark
6124 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6130 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6131 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6132 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6133 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6134 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6137 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6138 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6139 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6140 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6143 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6144 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6145 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6148 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6149 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6150 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6153 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6154 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6155 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6156 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6159 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6160 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6161 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6164 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6165 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6166 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6167 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6168 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6172 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6173 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6174 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6175 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6176 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6177 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6180 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6181 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6182 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6183 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6184 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6185 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6189 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6190 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6191 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6192 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6193 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6196 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6197 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6198 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6199 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6200 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6201 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6205 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6206 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6207 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6209 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6210 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6211 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6215 @subsection Setting Marks
6216 @cindex setting marks
6218 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6223 @kindex M c (Summary)
6224 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6226 @cindex mark as unread
6227 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6228 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6234 @kindex M t (Summary)
6235 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6236 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6237 @xref{Article Caching}.
6242 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6243 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6244 Mark the current article as dormant
6245 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6249 @kindex M d (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6252 Mark the current article as read
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6257 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6258 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6259 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6264 @kindex M k (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6266 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6267 and then select the next unread article
6268 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6272 @kindex M K (Summary)
6273 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6274 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6275 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6276 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6279 @kindex M C (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6281 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6282 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6285 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6287 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6288 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6291 @kindex M H (Summary)
6292 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6293 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6294 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6297 @kindex M h (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6299 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6300 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6303 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6304 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6305 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6306 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6309 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6311 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6312 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6316 @kindex M e (Summary)
6318 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6319 Mark the current article as expirable
6320 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6323 @kindex M b (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6325 Set a bookmark in the current article
6326 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6329 @kindex M B (Summary)
6330 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6331 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6332 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6335 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6337 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6338 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6341 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6343 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6344 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6347 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6349 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6350 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6351 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6354 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6355 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6356 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6357 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6358 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6359 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6360 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6361 The default is @code{t}.
6364 @node Generic Marking Commands
6365 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6367 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6368 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6369 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6370 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6371 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6374 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6375 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6378 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6379 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6380 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6381 to list in this manual.
6383 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6384 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6385 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6386 article, you could say something like:
6390 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6391 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6392 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6400 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6401 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6405 @node Setting Process Marks
6406 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6407 @cindex setting process marks
6409 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6410 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6411 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6412 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6413 articles into the cache. For more information,
6414 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6421 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6422 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6423 Mark the current article with the process mark
6424 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6425 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6429 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6430 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6431 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6432 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6435 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6436 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6437 Remove the process mark from all articles
6438 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6441 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6442 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6443 Invert the list of process marked articles
6444 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6447 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6448 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6449 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6450 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6453 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6455 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6456 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6459 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6461 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6464 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6465 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6466 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6469 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6471 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6472 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6475 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6476 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6477 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6478 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6481 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6482 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6483 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6484 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6487 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6488 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6489 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6492 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6493 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6494 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6495 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6498 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6499 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6500 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6503 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6504 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6505 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6506 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6509 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6510 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6511 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6512 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6515 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6516 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6517 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6518 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6521 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6522 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6523 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6524 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6528 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6529 set process marks based on article body contents.
6536 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6537 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6538 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6541 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
6542 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
6549 @kindex / / (Summary)
6550 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6551 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6552 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6556 @kindex / a (Summary)
6557 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6558 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6559 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6563 @kindex / R (Summary)
6564 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6565 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6566 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6570 @kindex / A (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
6572 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
6573 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
6574 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
6577 @kindex / S (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6579 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6580 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6581 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6584 @kindex / x (Summary)
6585 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6586 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6587 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6588 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6593 @kindex / u (Summary)
6595 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6596 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6597 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6598 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6599 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6602 @kindex / m (Summary)
6603 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6604 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6605 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6608 @kindex / t (Summary)
6609 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6610 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6611 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6612 articles younger than that number of days.
6615 @kindex / n (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6617 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6618 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6619 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6622 @kindex / w (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6624 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6625 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6629 @kindex / . (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6631 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6632 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6635 @kindex / v (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6637 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6638 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6641 @kindex / p (Summary)
6642 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6643 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6644 group parameter predicate
6645 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6646 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6649 @kindex / r (Summary)
6650 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6651 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6652 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6657 @kindex M S (Summary)
6658 @kindex / E (Summary)
6659 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6660 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6661 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6664 @kindex / D (Summary)
6665 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6666 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6667 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6670 @kindex / * (Summary)
6671 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6672 Include all cached articles in the limit
6673 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6676 @kindex / d (Summary)
6677 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6678 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6679 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6682 @kindex / M (Summary)
6683 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6684 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6687 @kindex / T (Summary)
6688 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6689 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6692 @kindex / c (Summary)
6693 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6694 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6695 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6698 @kindex / C (Summary)
6699 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6700 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6701 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6702 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6705 @kindex / b (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6707 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6708 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6709 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6710 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6713 @kindex / h (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6715 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6716 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6721 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
6726 @kindex / N (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6728 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6729 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6732 @kindex / o (Summary)
6733 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6734 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6735 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6743 @cindex article threading
6745 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6746 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6747 hierarchical fashion.
6749 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6750 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6751 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6752 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6753 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6754 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6755 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6757 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6761 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6764 A tree-like article structure.
6767 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6770 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6771 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6772 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6773 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6774 called loose threads.
6776 @item thread gathering
6777 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6779 @item sparse threads
6780 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6781 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6787 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6788 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6792 @node Customizing Threading
6793 @subsection Customizing Threading
6794 @cindex customizing threading
6797 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6798 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6799 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6800 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6805 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6808 @cindex loose threads
6811 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6812 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6813 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6814 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6815 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6816 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6818 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6819 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6820 There are four possible values:
6824 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6825 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6826 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6827 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6828 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6833 @cindex adopting articles
6838 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6839 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6840 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6841 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6844 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6845 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6846 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6847 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6848 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6849 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6850 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6851 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6852 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6853 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6856 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6857 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6858 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6862 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6863 display them after one another.
6866 Don't gather loose threads.
6869 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6870 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6871 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6872 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6873 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6874 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6875 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6876 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6877 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6878 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6879 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6881 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6882 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6883 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6886 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6887 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6888 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6889 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6890 simplification is used.
6892 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6893 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6894 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6895 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6897 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6899 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6905 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6906 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6907 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6908 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6913 (mapconcat 'identity
6914 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6916 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6919 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6922 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6923 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6924 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6925 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6926 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6927 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6929 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6932 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6933 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6934 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6936 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6937 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6940 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6941 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6942 Remove excessive whitespace.
6944 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6945 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6946 Remove all whitespace.
6949 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6952 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6953 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6954 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6955 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6956 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6957 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6958 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6959 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6961 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6962 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6963 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6964 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6965 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6966 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6967 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6968 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6969 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6973 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6974 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6975 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6976 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6978 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6979 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6980 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6983 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6987 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6988 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6994 @node Filling In Threads
6995 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6998 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6999 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7000 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7001 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7002 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7003 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7004 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7005 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7006 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7007 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7008 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7009 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7012 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7013 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7014 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7016 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7018 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7019 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7020 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7021 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7022 slow summary generation.
7024 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7025 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7026 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7029 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7030 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7031 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7032 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7033 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7034 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7035 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7036 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7037 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7038 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7039 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7040 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7041 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7042 @code{nil} by default.
7044 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7045 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7046 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7047 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7048 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7049 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7052 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7053 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7054 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7059 @node More Threading
7060 @subsubsection More Threading
7063 @item gnus-show-threads
7064 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7065 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7066 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7067 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7068 slower and more awkward.
7070 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7071 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7072 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7075 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7076 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7077 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7082 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7083 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7084 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7087 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7088 unread, but you get my drift.)
7091 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7092 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7093 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7094 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7095 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7096 threads are expunged.
7098 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7099 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7100 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7103 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7104 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7105 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7106 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7107 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7108 result in a new thread.
7110 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7111 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7112 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7115 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7116 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7117 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7118 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7119 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7120 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7121 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7122 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7123 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7124 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7125 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7130 @node Low-Level Threading
7131 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7135 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7136 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7137 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7139 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7140 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7141 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7142 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7143 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7144 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7145 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7146 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7147 meaningful. Here's one example:
7150 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7152 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7153 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7155 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7157 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7164 @node Thread Commands
7165 @subsection Thread Commands
7166 @cindex thread commands
7172 @kindex T k (Summary)
7173 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7174 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7175 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7176 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7177 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7182 @kindex T l (Summary)
7183 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7184 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7185 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7186 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7189 @kindex T i (Summary)
7190 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7191 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7192 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7195 @kindex T # (Summary)
7196 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7197 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7198 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7201 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7202 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7203 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7204 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7207 @kindex T T (Summary)
7208 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7209 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7212 @kindex T s (Summary)
7213 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7214 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7215 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7218 @kindex T h (Summary)
7219 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7220 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7223 @kindex T S (Summary)
7224 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7225 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7228 @kindex T H (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7230 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7233 @kindex T t (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7235 Re-thread the current article's thread
7236 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7237 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7240 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7241 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7242 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7243 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7246 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7248 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7249 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7253 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7254 understand the numeric prefix.
7259 @kindex T n (Summary)
7261 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7263 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7264 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7265 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7268 @kindex T p (Summary)
7270 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7272 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7273 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7274 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7277 @kindex T d (Summary)
7278 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7279 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7282 @kindex T u (Summary)
7283 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7284 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7287 @kindex T o (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7289 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7292 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7293 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7294 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7295 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7296 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7297 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7298 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7299 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7300 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7301 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7302 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7303 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7307 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7308 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7310 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7311 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7312 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7313 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7314 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7315 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7316 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7317 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7318 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7319 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7320 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7321 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7322 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7323 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7324 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7326 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7327 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7328 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7329 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7330 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
7331 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7332 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7333 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7334 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7335 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7337 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7338 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7339 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. Exceptions
7340 to this rule are @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number} and
7341 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date}.
7343 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7344 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7345 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7346 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7347 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7348 ascending article order.
7350 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7351 by number, you could do something like:
7354 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7355 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7356 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7357 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7360 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7361 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7362 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7363 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7364 which the articles arrived.
7366 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7370 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7371 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7372 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7375 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7376 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7377 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7378 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7381 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7382 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7383 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
7384 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7385 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7386 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7387 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7388 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7389 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
7390 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7391 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7392 variable. It is very similar to the
7393 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7394 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7395 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7396 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7397 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7398 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7399 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7401 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7405 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7406 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7407 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7410 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7411 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7414 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7415 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7416 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7417 @cindex article pre-fetch
7420 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7421 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7422 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7423 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7424 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7426 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7427 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7429 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7430 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7431 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7432 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7433 connection is blocked.
7435 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7436 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7437 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7438 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7440 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7441 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7442 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7443 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7446 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7449 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7450 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7451 happen automatically.
7453 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7454 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7455 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7456 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7457 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7458 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7459 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7461 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7462 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
7463 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7464 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7465 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7466 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7467 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
7468 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7469 article data structure as the only parameter.
7471 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7472 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7475 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7476 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7477 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7478 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7481 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7484 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7485 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7486 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7488 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
7489 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
7490 After an article has been prefetched, this
7491 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
7492 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
7493 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
7494 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
7495 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
7496 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
7498 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7499 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7500 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7501 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7505 Remove articles when they are read.
7508 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7511 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7513 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7514 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7515 @c from the next group.
7518 @node Article Caching
7519 @section Article Caching
7520 @cindex article caching
7523 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7524 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7525 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7526 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7527 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7529 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7531 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7532 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7533 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7534 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7535 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7536 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7537 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7538 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7540 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7541 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7542 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7543 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7544 as dormant, and don't worry.
7546 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7548 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7549 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7550 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7551 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7552 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7553 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7554 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7555 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7556 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7557 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7559 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7560 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7561 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7562 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7563 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7564 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7565 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7566 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7567 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7568 not then be downloaded by this command.
7570 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7571 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7572 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7573 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7574 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7575 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7577 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7578 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7579 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7580 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7581 variables, the group is not cached.
7583 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7584 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7585 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7586 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7587 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7588 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7589 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7590 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7591 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7594 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7595 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7596 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7597 where, isn't that cool?
7599 @node Persistent Articles
7600 @section Persistent Articles
7601 @cindex persistent articles
7603 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7604 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7605 useful in my opinion.
7607 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7608 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7609 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7610 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7611 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7612 the expiry going on at the news server.
7614 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7615 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7616 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7622 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7623 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7626 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7627 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7628 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7629 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7633 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7635 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7636 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7637 interested in persistent articles:
7640 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7643 @node Sticky Articles
7644 @section Sticky Articles
7645 @cindex sticky articles
7647 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
7648 according to the value of the variable
7649 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
7650 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
7651 has its own article buffer.
7653 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
7654 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
7655 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
7656 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next Christmas party.
7658 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
7659 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
7660 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
7664 @kindex A S (Summary)
7665 @findex gnus-sticky-article
7666 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
7667 name for this sticky article buffer.
7670 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
7676 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
7680 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
7681 Kills this sticky article buffer.
7684 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
7686 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
7687 Kill all sticky article buffers.
7688 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
7691 @node Article Backlog
7692 @section Article Backlog
7694 @cindex article backlog
7696 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7697 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7698 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7699 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7700 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7701 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7702 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7703 increase memory usage some.
7705 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7706 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7707 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7708 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7709 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7710 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7711 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7713 The default value is 20.
7716 @node Saving Articles
7717 @section Saving Articles
7718 @cindex saving articles
7720 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7721 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7722 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7723 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7724 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7726 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7727 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7728 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7730 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7731 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7732 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7734 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7735 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7736 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7737 deleted before saving.
7743 @kindex O o (Summary)
7745 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7746 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7747 Save the current article using the default article saver
7748 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7751 @kindex O m (Summary)
7752 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7753 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7754 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7757 @kindex O r (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7759 Save the current article in Rmail format
7760 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
7761 Babyl in older versions.
7764 @kindex O f (Summary)
7765 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7766 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7767 Save the current article in plain file format
7768 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7771 @kindex O F (Summary)
7772 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7773 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7774 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7777 @kindex O b (Summary)
7778 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7779 Save the current article body in plain file format
7780 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7783 @kindex O h (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7785 Save the current article in mh folder format
7786 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7789 @kindex O v (Summary)
7790 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7791 Save the current article in a VM folder
7792 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7796 @kindex O p (Summary)
7798 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7799 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
7800 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7801 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7802 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7803 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
7804 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
7805 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
7806 to a string containing the default command and options (default
7810 @kindex O P (Summary)
7811 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7812 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7813 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7814 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7815 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7816 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7817 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7821 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7822 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7823 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7824 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7825 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7826 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7827 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7828 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7829 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7830 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7831 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7832 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7836 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7837 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7838 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7839 functions below, or you can create your own.
7843 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7844 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7845 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7846 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7847 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
7848 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
7849 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
7850 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
7851 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
7852 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7853 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7855 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7856 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7857 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7858 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7859 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7860 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7862 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7863 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7864 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7865 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7866 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7867 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7868 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7870 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7871 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7872 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7873 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7874 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7875 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7877 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7878 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7879 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7880 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7881 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7883 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7884 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7885 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7886 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7887 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7888 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7890 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7891 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7892 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7893 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7894 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7897 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7898 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7899 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7900 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7901 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7903 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7904 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7905 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7906 reader to use this setting.
7908 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7909 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7910 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
7911 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
7915 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
7917 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
7918 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
7919 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
7920 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
7921 last used for saving.
7924 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
7925 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
7926 headers will be piped.
7929 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7933 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7934 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7935 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7936 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
7937 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
7938 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
7941 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7942 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7943 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7944 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7945 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7946 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7949 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7950 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7951 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7952 headers should be saved.
7955 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7956 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7957 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7958 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7961 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7962 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7963 available functions that generate names:
7967 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7968 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7969 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7971 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7972 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7973 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7975 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7976 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7977 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7979 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7980 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7981 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7983 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7984 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7985 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7988 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7989 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7990 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7991 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7992 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7996 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7997 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7998 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7999 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8002 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8003 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8004 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8005 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8006 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8007 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8008 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8009 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8010 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8012 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8013 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8014 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8015 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8017 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8018 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8019 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8022 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8023 lots of mail groups called things like
8024 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8025 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8026 following will do just that:
8029 (defun my-save-name (group)
8030 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8031 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8033 (setq gnus-split-methods
8034 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8039 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8040 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8041 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8042 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8043 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8044 all the files in the top level directory
8045 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8046 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8047 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8048 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8050 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8051 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8052 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8053 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8054 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8057 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8061 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8062 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8063 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8066 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8067 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8068 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8069 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8072 @node Decoding Articles
8073 @section Decoding Articles
8074 @cindex decoding articles
8076 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8077 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8080 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8081 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8082 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8083 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8084 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8085 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8089 @cindex article series
8090 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8091 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8092 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8093 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8094 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8096 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8097 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8098 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8100 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8101 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8102 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8104 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8105 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8106 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8109 @node Uuencoded Articles
8110 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8112 @cindex uuencoded articles
8117 @kindex X u (Summary)
8118 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8119 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8120 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8123 @kindex X U (Summary)
8124 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8125 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8126 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8129 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8130 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8131 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8134 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8136 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8137 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8141 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8142 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8143 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8144 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8145 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8147 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8148 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8149 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8150 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8153 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8154 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8155 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8156 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8157 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8158 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8162 @node Shell Archives
8163 @subsection Shell Archives
8165 @cindex shell archives
8166 @cindex shared articles
8168 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8169 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8170 some commands to deal with these:
8175 @kindex X s (Summary)
8176 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8177 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8180 @kindex X S (Summary)
8181 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8182 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8185 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8186 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8187 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8190 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8191 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8192 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8193 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8197 @node PostScript Files
8198 @subsection PostScript Files
8204 @kindex X p (Summary)
8205 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8206 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8209 @kindex X P (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8211 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8212 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8215 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8217 View the current PostScript series
8218 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8221 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8222 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8223 View and save the current PostScript series
8224 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8229 @subsection Other Files
8233 @kindex X o (Summary)
8234 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8235 Save the current series
8236 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8239 @kindex X b (Summary)
8240 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8241 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8242 doesn't really work yet.
8245 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8246 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8247 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8251 @node Decoding Variables
8252 @subsection Decoding Variables
8254 Adjective, not verb.
8257 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8258 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8259 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8263 @node Rule Variables
8264 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8265 @cindex rule variables
8267 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8268 variables are of the form
8271 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8278 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8279 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8281 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8282 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8285 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8286 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8289 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8290 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8291 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8292 user and default view rules.
8294 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8295 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8296 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8301 @node Other Decode Variables
8302 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8305 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8307 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8308 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8309 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8310 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8311 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8315 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8316 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8319 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8320 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8321 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8324 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8325 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8326 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8327 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8328 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8331 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8332 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8333 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8335 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8336 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8337 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8338 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8339 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8342 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8343 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8344 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8346 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8347 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8348 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8349 looking for files to display.
8351 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8352 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8353 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8356 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8357 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8358 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8361 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8362 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8363 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8366 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8367 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8368 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8371 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8372 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8373 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8374 decoded articles as unread.
8376 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8377 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8378 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8379 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8381 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8382 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8383 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8385 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8386 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8388 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8389 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8390 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8391 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8393 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8394 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8395 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8396 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8397 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8398 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8399 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8400 simply dropped them.
8405 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8406 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8410 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8411 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8412 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8413 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8414 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8415 for you when you post the article.
8417 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8418 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8419 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8420 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8422 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8423 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8424 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8425 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8426 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8427 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8428 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8430 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8431 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8432 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8433 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8434 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8435 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8436 Default is @code{t}.
8442 @subsection Viewing Files
8443 @cindex viewing files
8444 @cindex pseudo-articles
8446 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8447 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8448 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8449 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8450 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8451 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8452 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8454 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8455 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8456 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8457 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8459 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8460 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8461 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8463 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8464 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8465 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8466 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8467 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8469 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8470 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8471 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8472 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8473 a list of parameters to that command.
8475 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8476 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8477 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8479 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8480 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8481 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8484 @node Article Treatment
8485 @section Article Treatment
8487 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8488 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8489 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8490 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8491 these articles easier.
8494 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8495 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8496 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8497 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8498 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8499 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8500 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8501 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8502 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
8503 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
8504 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8505 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8509 @node Article Highlighting
8510 @subsection Article Highlighting
8511 @cindex highlighting
8513 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8514 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8519 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8520 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8521 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8522 Do much highlighting of the current article
8523 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8524 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8527 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8529 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8530 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8531 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8532 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8533 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8534 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8535 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8536 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8537 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8538 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8541 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8543 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8545 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8548 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8550 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8551 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8552 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8554 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8555 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8556 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8558 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8559 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8560 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8561 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8562 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8563 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8565 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8566 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8567 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8569 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8570 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8571 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8573 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8574 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8575 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8576 that it's a citation.
8578 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8579 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8580 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8582 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8583 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8584 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8586 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8587 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8588 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8589 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8591 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8592 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8593 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8594 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8595 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8602 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8603 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8604 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8605 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8606 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8607 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8608 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8609 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8614 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8617 @node Article Fontisizing
8618 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8620 @cindex article emphasis
8622 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8623 @kindex W e (Summary)
8624 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8625 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8626 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8627 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8629 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8630 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8631 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8632 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8633 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8634 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8635 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8636 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8640 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8641 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8642 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8651 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8652 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8653 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8654 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8655 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8656 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8657 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8658 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8659 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8660 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8661 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8662 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8663 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8665 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8666 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8667 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8671 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8674 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8676 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8677 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8678 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8679 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8681 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8684 @node Article Hiding
8685 @subsection Article Hiding
8686 @cindex article hiding
8688 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8689 too much cruft in most articles.
8694 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8695 @findex gnus-article-hide
8696 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8697 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8698 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8701 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8702 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8703 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8707 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8708 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8709 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8710 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8713 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8714 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8715 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8719 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8720 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8721 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8722 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8723 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8724 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8725 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8726 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8730 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8731 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8732 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8733 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8738 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8739 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8740 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8741 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8744 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8745 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8746 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8747 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8750 @cindex stripping advertisements
8751 @cindex advertisements
8752 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8753 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8754 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8755 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8756 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8757 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8758 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8759 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8760 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8761 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8767 (setq gnus-article-banner-alist
8769 "^\n*--~--~---------\\(.+\n\\)+")))
8772 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8773 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8774 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8778 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8779 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8780 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8781 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8782 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8783 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8784 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8785 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8786 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8787 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8788 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8791 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8792 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8798 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8799 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8800 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8801 customizing the hiding:
8805 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8806 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8807 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8808 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8809 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8810 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8811 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8816 Starting point of the hidden text.
8818 Ending point of the hidden text.
8820 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8822 Number of lines of hidden text.
8825 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8826 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8827 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8828 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8829 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8834 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8835 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8837 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8838 following two variables:
8841 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8842 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8843 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8844 50), hide the cited text.
8846 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8847 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8848 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8853 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8854 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8855 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8856 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8857 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8858 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8862 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8863 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8864 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8866 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8867 citation customization.
8869 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8873 @node Article Washing
8874 @subsection Article Washing
8876 @cindex article washing
8878 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8879 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8881 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8882 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8885 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8886 articles by default.
8891 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8892 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8896 Force redisplaying of the current article
8897 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8898 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8899 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8900 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8903 @kindex W l (Summary)
8904 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8905 Remove page breaks from the current article
8906 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8910 @kindex W r (Summary)
8911 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8912 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8913 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8914 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8915 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8916 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8918 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8919 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8920 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8921 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8924 @kindex W m (Summary)
8925 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8926 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8929 @kindex W i (Summary)
8930 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8931 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8932 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8933 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8934 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8935 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8940 @kindex W t (Summary)
8942 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8943 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8944 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8947 @kindex W v (Summary)
8948 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8949 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8950 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8953 @kindex W o (Summary)
8954 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8955 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8958 @kindex W d (Summary)
8959 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8960 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8962 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8964 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8965 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8966 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8967 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8970 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8971 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8972 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8973 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8976 @kindex W U (Summary)
8977 @findex gnus-article-treat-non-ascii
8979 @cindex Non-@acronym{ASCII}
8980 Translate many non-@acronym{ASCII} characters into their
8981 @acronym{ASCII} equivalents (@code{gnus-article-treat-non-ascii}).
8982 This is mostly useful if you're on a terminal that has a limited font
8983 and doesn't show accented characters, ``advanced'' punctuation, and the
8984 like. For instance, @samp{»} is translated into @samp{>>}, and so on.
8987 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8988 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8989 @cindex Outlook Express
8990 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8991 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8992 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8995 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8996 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8997 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8998 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8999 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
9000 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
9001 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
9002 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
9003 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
9004 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9007 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9008 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9009 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9010 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9013 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9014 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9015 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9016 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9019 @kindex W w (Summary)
9020 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9021 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9023 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9027 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9028 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9029 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9032 @kindex W C (Summary)
9033 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9034 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9035 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9038 @kindex W c (Summary)
9039 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9040 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9041 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9042 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9043 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9046 @kindex W q (Summary)
9047 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9048 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9049 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9050 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9051 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9052 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9053 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9054 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9055 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9058 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9059 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9060 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9061 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9062 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9063 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9064 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9065 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9068 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9069 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9070 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9071 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9072 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9075 @kindex W A (Summary)
9076 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9077 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9078 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9079 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9080 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9083 @kindex W u (Summary)
9084 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9085 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9086 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9087 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9088 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9091 @kindex W h (Summary)
9092 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9093 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9094 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9095 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9097 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9098 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9099 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9101 The default is to use the function specified by
9102 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9103 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9104 @acronym{HTML}. Pre-defined functions you can use include:
9108 Use Gnus simple html renderer.
9111 Use Gnus rendered based on w3m.
9117 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9119 @item w3m-standalone
9120 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9123 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9126 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9129 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9134 @kindex W b (Summary)
9135 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9136 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9137 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9140 @kindex W B (Summary)
9141 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9142 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9143 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9146 @kindex W p (Summary)
9147 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9148 Verify a signed control message
9149 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9150 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9151 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9152 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9153 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9154 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9157 @kindex W s (Summary)
9158 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9159 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9160 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9161 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9164 @kindex W a (Summary)
9165 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9166 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9167 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9170 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9171 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9172 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9173 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9176 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9177 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9178 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9179 lines with a single empty line.
9180 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9183 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9184 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9185 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9186 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9189 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9190 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9191 Do all the three commands above
9192 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9195 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9196 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9197 Remove all blank lines
9198 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9201 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9202 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9203 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9204 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9207 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9208 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9209 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9210 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9214 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9217 @node Article Header
9218 @subsection Article Header
9220 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9225 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9226 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9227 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9230 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9231 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9232 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9233 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9236 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9237 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9238 Fold all the message headers
9239 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9242 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9243 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9244 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9245 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9250 @node Article Buttons
9251 @subsection Article Buttons
9254 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9255 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9256 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9257 button on these references.
9259 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9260 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9261 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9262 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9263 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9267 @item gnus-button-alist
9268 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9269 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9272 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9278 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9279 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9280 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9281 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9282 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9285 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9286 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9287 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9290 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9291 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9292 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9293 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9294 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9296 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9299 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9302 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9303 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9307 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9310 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9313 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9314 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9315 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9316 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9317 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9320 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9323 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9326 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9329 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9330 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9332 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9334 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9335 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9336 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9337 default values of the variables above.
9339 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9341 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9342 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9343 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9344 argument with a string naming the man page.
9346 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9348 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9349 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9350 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9352 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9353 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9354 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9355 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9356 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9357 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9358 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9359 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
9360 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9361 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9362 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9363 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9365 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9366 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9367 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9368 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9369 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9372 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9373 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9374 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9375 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9379 @item gnus-article-button-face
9380 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9381 Face used on buttons.
9383 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9384 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9385 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9389 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9392 @node Article Button Levels
9393 @subsection Article button levels
9394 @cindex button levels
9395 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9396 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9397 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9398 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9399 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9400 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9401 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9402 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9405 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9406 (setq gnus-parameters
9407 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9408 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9409 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9414 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9415 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9416 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9417 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9418 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9419 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9421 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9422 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9423 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9424 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9425 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9426 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9427 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9428 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9429 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9430 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9431 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9432 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9433 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9435 @item gnus-button-man-level
9436 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9437 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9438 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9440 @item gnus-button-message-level
9441 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9442 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9443 Related variables and functions include
9444 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9445 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9446 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9447 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9453 @subsection Article Date
9455 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9456 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9457 when the article was sent.
9462 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9463 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9464 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9465 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9468 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9469 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9471 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9472 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9475 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9476 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9477 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9480 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9481 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9482 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9483 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9486 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9487 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9488 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9489 @findex format-time-string
9490 Display the date using a user-defined format
9491 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9492 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9493 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9494 for a list of possible format specs.
9497 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9498 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9499 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9500 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9501 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9502 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9505 Date: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9508 This line is updated continually by default. The frequency (in
9509 seconds) is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-update-date-headers}
9512 If you wish to switch updating off, say:
9514 @vindex gnus-article-update-date-headers
9516 (setq gnus-article-update-date-headers nil)
9519 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9522 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9523 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9524 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9525 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9526 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9527 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9528 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9532 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9533 preferred format automatically.
9536 @node Article Display
9537 @subsection Article Display
9543 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9544 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9546 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9547 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9549 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9550 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9552 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9553 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9555 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9556 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9558 Gravatars reside on-line and are fetched from
9559 @uref{http://www.gravatar.com/} (@pxref{Gravatars}).
9561 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9566 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9567 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9568 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9569 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9572 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9573 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9574 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9575 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9578 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9579 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9580 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9583 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9584 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9585 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9588 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9589 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9590 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9591 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9594 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9596 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9597 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9600 @kindex W D g (Summary)
9601 @findex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
9602 Gravatarify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9605 @kindex W D h (Summary)
9606 @findex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
9607 Gravatarify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9608 (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9611 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9612 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9613 Remove all images from the article buffer
9614 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9617 @kindex W D W (Summary)
9618 @findex gnus-html-show-images
9619 If you're reading an @acronym{HTML} article rendered with
9620 @code{gnus-article-html}, then you can insert any blocked images in
9621 the buffer with this command.
9622 (@code{gnus-html-show-images}).
9628 @node Article Signature
9629 @subsection Article Signature
9631 @cindex article signature
9633 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9634 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9635 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9636 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9637 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9638 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9639 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9640 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9641 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9644 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9645 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9646 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9647 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9648 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9649 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9650 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9651 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9654 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9657 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9658 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9659 signature when displaying articles.
9663 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9666 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9669 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9670 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9672 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9673 in question is not a signature.
9676 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9677 listed above. Here's an example:
9680 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9681 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9684 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9685 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9686 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9687 signature after all.
9690 @node Article Miscellanea
9691 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9695 @kindex A t (Summary)
9696 @findex gnus-article-babel
9697 Translate the article from one language to another
9698 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9704 @section MIME Commands
9705 @cindex MIME decoding
9707 @cindex viewing attachments
9709 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9710 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9716 @kindex K v (Summary)
9717 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9720 @kindex K o (Summary)
9721 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9724 @kindex K O (Summary)
9725 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9726 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9727 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9730 @kindex K r (Summary)
9731 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9734 @kindex K d (Summary)
9735 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9739 @kindex K c (Summary)
9740 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9743 @kindex K e (Summary)
9744 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9747 @kindex K i (Summary)
9748 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9751 @kindex K | (Summary)
9752 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9755 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9760 @kindex K H (Summary)
9761 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
9762 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
9763 Inline images embedded in a message using the @code{cid} scheme, as they
9764 are generally considered to be safe, will be processed properly. The
9765 message header is added to the beginning of every @acronym{HTML} part
9766 unless the prefix argument is given.
9768 Warning: Spammers use links to images (using the @code{http} scheme) in
9769 @acronym{HTML} articles to verify whether you have read the message. As
9770 this command passes the @acronym{HTML} content to the browser without
9771 eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should only use it for mails from
9774 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
9775 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
9777 This command creates temporary files to pass @acronym{HTML} contents
9778 including images if any to the browser, and deletes them when exiting
9779 the group (if you want).
9782 @kindex K b (Summary)
9783 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9784 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9788 @kindex K m (Summary)
9789 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9790 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9791 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9792 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9793 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9796 @kindex X m (Summary)
9797 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9798 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9799 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9800 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9803 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9804 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9805 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9806 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9809 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9810 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9811 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9812 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9815 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9816 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9817 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9818 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9820 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9821 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9822 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9823 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9824 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9825 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9828 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9829 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9830 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9831 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9838 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9839 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9840 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9841 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9844 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9847 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9851 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9852 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9853 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9854 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9855 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9856 default is @code{t}.
9858 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9859 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9862 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9863 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9864 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9865 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9866 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9867 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9868 for encoding in Gnus.
9870 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9871 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9872 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9873 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9874 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9875 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9876 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9877 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9879 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9880 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9881 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9882 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9883 displayed. This variable overrides
9884 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9885 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9888 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9889 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9890 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9892 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9893 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9894 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9895 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9896 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9898 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9899 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9900 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9901 default value is @code{nil}.
9903 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9904 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9905 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9906 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9907 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9908 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9909 save all jpegs into some directory).
9911 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9914 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9915 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9917 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9918 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9919 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9920 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9921 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9924 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9925 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9926 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9928 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9929 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9930 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9932 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9933 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9934 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9936 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
9937 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9938 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9939 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9940 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9942 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9943 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9944 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9945 overrides @code{nil} values of
9946 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9947 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9949 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9950 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9951 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9952 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9954 Ready-made functions include@*
9955 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9956 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9957 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9958 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9959 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9960 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9961 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9962 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9963 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9964 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9965 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9966 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9968 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9969 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9971 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9972 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9973 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9976 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9977 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9978 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9979 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9983 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9992 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9993 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9994 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9995 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9996 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9997 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9998 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
10000 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
10001 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
10002 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
10003 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
10005 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
10006 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
10007 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
10008 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10009 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10010 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10011 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10012 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10013 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10015 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10016 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10017 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10018 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10019 quoted-printable header encoding.
10021 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10022 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10023 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10027 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10030 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10031 means encode all charsets),
10033 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10034 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10035 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10042 @cindex coding system aliases
10043 @cindex preferred charset
10045 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10046 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10047 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10049 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10051 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10052 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10055 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10056 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10059 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10060 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10062 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10065 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10068 This will almost do the right thing.
10070 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10074 (codepage-setup 1251)
10075 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10079 @node Article Commands
10080 @section Article Commands
10087 @kindex A P (Summary)
10088 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10089 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10090 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10091 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10092 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10093 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10096 @vindex gnus-fetch-partial-articles
10097 @findex gnus-summary-show-complete-article
10098 If @code{<backend>-fetch-partial-articles} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
10099 fetch partial articles, if the backend it fetches them from supports
10100 it. Currently only @code{nnimap} does. If you're looking at a
10101 partial article, and want to see the complete article instead, then
10102 the @kbd{A C} command (@code{gnus-summary-show-complete-article}) will
10108 @node Summary Sorting
10109 @section Summary Sorting
10110 @cindex summary sorting
10112 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10113 can't really see why you'd want that.
10118 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10119 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10120 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10122 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10123 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10124 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10125 Sort by most recent article number
10126 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10129 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10130 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10131 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10134 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10135 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10136 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10139 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10140 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10141 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10144 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10145 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10146 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10148 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10149 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10150 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10151 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10154 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10155 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10156 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10159 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10160 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10161 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10164 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10165 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10166 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10169 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10170 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10171 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10174 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10175 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10176 Sort using the default sorting method
10177 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10180 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10181 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10182 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10183 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10184 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10187 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10190 @node Finding the Parent
10191 @section Finding the Parent
10192 @cindex parent articles
10193 @cindex referring articles
10197 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10198 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10199 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10200 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10201 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10202 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10203 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10204 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10205 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10206 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10208 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10209 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10210 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10211 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
10212 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
10215 @item A R (Summary)
10216 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10217 @kindex A R (Summary)
10218 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10219 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10221 @item A T (Summary)
10222 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10223 @kindex A T (Summary)
10224 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10225 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10226 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10227 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10228 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10229 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10230 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10232 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10233 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
10234 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10235 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10236 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10237 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10239 @item M-^ (Summary)
10240 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10241 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10243 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10244 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10245 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10246 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10247 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10248 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10250 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10251 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10252 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10255 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10256 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10257 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10258 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10259 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10260 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10263 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10264 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10265 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10268 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10269 then ask Google if that fails:
10272 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10274 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10277 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10278 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10279 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10280 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10281 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10282 group. @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
10284 Fortunately, the special @code{nnregistry} back end is able to locate
10285 articles in any groups, regardless of their back end (@pxref{Registry
10286 Article Refer Method, fetching by @code{Message-ID} using the
10289 @node Alternative Approaches
10290 @section Alternative Approaches
10292 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10293 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
10296 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
10297 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
10301 @node Pick and Read
10302 @subsection Pick and Read
10303 @cindex pick and read
10305 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
10306 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
10307 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
10308 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
10310 @findex gnus-pick-mode
10311 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
10312 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
10313 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
10314 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
10315 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
10317 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10322 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10323 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10324 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10325 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10326 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10327 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10328 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10329 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10332 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10333 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10334 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10335 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10339 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10340 Unpick the thread or article
10341 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10342 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10343 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10344 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10345 the thread or article at that line.
10349 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10350 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10351 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10352 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10353 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10354 will still be visible when you are reading.
10358 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10359 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10360 which is mapped to the same function
10361 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10363 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10366 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10369 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10370 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10372 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10373 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10374 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10376 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10377 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10378 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10379 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10380 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10381 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10382 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10385 @node Binary Groups
10386 @subsection Binary Groups
10387 @cindex binary groups
10389 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10390 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10391 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10392 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10393 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10394 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10395 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10398 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10399 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10400 command, when you have turned on this mode
10401 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10403 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10404 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10408 @section Tree Display
10411 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10412 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10413 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10414 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10415 in the tree buffer.
10417 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10420 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10421 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10422 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10424 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10425 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10426 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10427 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10428 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10430 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10431 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10432 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10433 default is @code{modeline}.
10435 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10436 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10437 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10438 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10439 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10440 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10441 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10447 The name of the poster.
10449 The @code{From} header.
10451 The number of the article.
10453 The opening bracket.
10455 The closing bracket.
10460 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10462 Variables related to the display are:
10465 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10466 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10467 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10468 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10470 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10471 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10472 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10474 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10476 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10477 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10478 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10479 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10483 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10484 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10485 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10486 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10487 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10488 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10489 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10490 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10491 other windows displayed next to it.
10493 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10497 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10498 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10501 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10502 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10503 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10504 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10505 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10506 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10507 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10511 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10514 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10524 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10529 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10530 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10532 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10534 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10540 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10541 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10542 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10545 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10546 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10547 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10548 (gnus-add-configuration
10552 (summary 0.75 point)
10557 @xref{Window Layout}.
10560 @node Mail Group Commands
10561 @section Mail Group Commands
10562 @cindex mail group commands
10564 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10565 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10567 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10568 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10573 @kindex B e (Summary)
10574 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10575 @cindex expiring mail
10576 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10577 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10578 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10579 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10582 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10583 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10584 @cindex expiring mail
10585 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10586 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10587 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10588 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10591 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10592 @cindex deleting mail
10593 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10594 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10595 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10596 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10597 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10600 @kindex B m (Summary)
10602 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10603 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10604 Move the article from one mail group to another
10605 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10606 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10609 @kindex B c (Summary)
10611 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10612 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10613 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10614 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10615 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10618 @kindex B B (Summary)
10619 @cindex crosspost mail
10620 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10621 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10622 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10623 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10624 be properly updated.
10627 @kindex B i (Summary)
10628 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10629 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10630 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10631 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10634 @kindex B I (Summary)
10635 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10636 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10637 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10638 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10641 @kindex B r (Summary)
10642 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10643 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10644 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10645 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10646 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10647 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10648 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10649 (which is the default).
10653 @kindex B w (Summary)
10654 @kindex e (Summary)
10655 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10656 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10657 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10658 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10659 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10660 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10661 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10664 @kindex B q (Summary)
10665 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10666 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10667 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10668 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10671 @kindex B t (Summary)
10672 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10673 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10674 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10677 @kindex B p (Summary)
10678 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10679 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10680 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10681 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10682 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10683 article from your news server (or rather, from
10684 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10685 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10686 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10687 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10688 just not have arrived yet.
10691 @kindex K E (Summary)
10692 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10693 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10694 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10695 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10696 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10700 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10701 @cindex moving articles
10702 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10703 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10704 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10705 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10706 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10707 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10708 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10711 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10712 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10713 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10714 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10718 @node Various Summary Stuff
10719 @section Various Summary Stuff
10722 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10723 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10724 * Summary Generation Commands::
10725 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10729 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10730 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10731 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10732 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10733 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10734 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10736 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10737 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10738 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10741 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10742 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10743 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10745 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10746 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10747 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10748 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10749 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10750 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10753 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10754 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10755 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10756 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10757 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10759 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10760 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10761 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10764 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10765 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10766 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10767 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10768 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10769 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10770 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10771 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10772 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10773 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10775 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10776 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10777 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10778 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10779 list of articles to be selected.
10781 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10782 the list in one particular group:
10785 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10786 (if (string= group "some.group")
10787 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10791 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10792 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10793 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10794 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10795 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10798 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10799 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10800 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10801 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10802 variable will be used instead.
10804 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10805 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10806 buffers. For example:
10809 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10810 '(message-use-followup-to
10811 (gnus-visible-headers .
10812 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10815 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10817 @vindex gnus-propagate-marks
10818 @item gnus-propagate-marks
10819 If non-@code{nil}, propagate marks to the backends for possible
10820 storing. @xref{NNTP marks}, and friends, for a more fine-grained
10826 @node Summary Group Information
10827 @subsection Summary Group Information
10832 @kindex H d (Summary)
10833 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10834 Give a brief description of the current group
10835 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10836 rereading the description from the server.
10839 @kindex H h (Summary)
10840 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10841 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10842 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10845 @kindex H i (Summary)
10846 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10847 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10851 @node Searching for Articles
10852 @subsection Searching for Articles
10857 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10858 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10859 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10860 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10863 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10864 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10865 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10866 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10869 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10870 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10871 Repeat the previous search forwards
10872 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10875 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10876 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10877 Repeat the previous search backwards
10878 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10881 @kindex & (Summary)
10882 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10883 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10884 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10885 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10886 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10887 search backward instead.
10889 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10890 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10893 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10894 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10895 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10896 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10899 @node Summary Generation Commands
10900 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10905 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10906 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10907 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10910 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10911 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10912 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10913 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10916 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10917 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10918 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10919 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10922 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10923 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10924 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10925 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10930 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10931 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10937 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10938 @kindex A D (Summary)
10939 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10940 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10941 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10942 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10943 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10944 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10945 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10946 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10949 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
10950 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
10951 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
10956 Select the next article.
10959 Select the next unread article.
10961 @item next-noselect
10962 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
10964 @item next-unread-noselect
10965 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
10968 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
10969 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
10972 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10973 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10974 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10975 several documents into one biiig group
10976 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10977 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10978 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10979 command understands the process/prefix convention
10980 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10983 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10984 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10985 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10986 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10987 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10988 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10991 @kindex = (Summary)
10992 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10993 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10994 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10997 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10998 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10999 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11000 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
11003 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
11004 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
11005 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
11006 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11011 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11012 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11013 @cindex summary exit
11014 @cindex exiting groups
11016 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11017 group and return you to the group buffer.
11024 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11025 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11026 @kindex q (Summary)
11027 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11028 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11029 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11030 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11031 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11032 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11033 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11034 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11035 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11036 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11037 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11038 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11042 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11043 @kindex Q (Summary)
11044 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11045 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11046 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11050 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11051 @kindex c (Summary)
11052 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11053 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11054 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11055 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11058 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11059 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11060 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11061 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11064 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11065 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11066 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11067 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11070 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11071 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11072 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11073 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11077 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11078 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11079 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11080 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11081 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11082 all articles, both read and unread.
11086 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11087 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11088 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11089 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11090 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11091 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11092 articles, both read and unread.
11095 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11096 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11097 Exit the group and go to the next group
11098 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11101 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11102 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11103 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11104 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11107 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11108 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11109 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11110 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11111 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11112 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11115 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11116 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11117 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11118 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11120 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11121 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11122 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11123 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11124 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11125 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11126 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11127 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11128 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11129 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11130 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11131 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11133 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11135 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11136 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11137 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
11138 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11139 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11140 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11141 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11142 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11143 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11146 @node Crosspost Handling
11147 @section Crosspost Handling
11151 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11152 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11153 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11154 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11155 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11158 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11159 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11160 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11161 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11162 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11164 @cindex cross-posting
11166 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11167 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11168 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11169 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11170 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11171 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11172 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11173 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11174 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11175 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11176 the cross reference mechanism.
11178 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11179 @cindex overview.fmt
11180 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11181 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11182 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11183 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11184 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11185 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11188 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11189 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11190 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11194 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11197 @node Duplicate Suppression
11198 @section Duplicate Suppression
11200 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11201 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11202 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11203 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11208 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11209 is evil and not very common.
11212 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11213 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11216 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11217 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11220 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11223 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11224 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11226 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11227 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11228 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11229 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11230 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11231 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11232 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11235 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11236 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11237 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11238 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11239 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11240 saw the article in.
11243 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11244 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11245 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11247 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11248 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11249 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11250 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11251 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11252 session are suppressed.
11254 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11255 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11256 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11257 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11259 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11260 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11261 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11262 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11265 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11266 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11267 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11268 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11269 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11270 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11271 to you to figure out, I think.
11276 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11277 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11278 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11283 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11284 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
11285 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
11286 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
11287 PGG Manual}), and Mailcrypt are also supported.
11290 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11291 or newer is recommended.
11295 The variables that control security functionality on reading/composing
11299 @item mm-verify-option
11300 @vindex mm-verify-option
11301 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
11302 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
11303 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11305 @item mm-decrypt-option
11306 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
11307 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
11308 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
11309 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11311 @item mm-sign-option
11312 @vindex mm-sign-option
11313 Option of creating signed parts. @code{nil}, use default signing
11314 keys; @code{guided}, ask user to select signing keys from the menu.
11316 @item mm-encrypt-option
11317 @vindex mm-encrypt-option
11318 Option of creating encrypted parts. @code{nil}, use the first
11319 public-key matching the @samp{From:} header as the recipient;
11320 @code{guided}, ask user to select recipient keys from the menu.
11323 @vindex mml1991-use
11324 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11325 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
11326 and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported although
11327 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
11331 @vindex mml2015-use
11332 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11333 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
11334 @code{pgg}, and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported
11335 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
11336 interface in this order.
11340 By default the buttons that display security information are not
11341 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
11342 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
11343 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
11344 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
11345 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
11346 how to customize these variables to always display security
11349 @cindex snarfing keys
11350 @cindex importing PGP keys
11351 @cindex PGP key ring import
11352 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11353 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11354 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11355 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11356 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11357 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11358 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11359 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11360 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11363 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11366 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11367 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11369 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11370 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11371 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11374 @section Mailing List
11375 @cindex mailing list
11378 @kindex A M (summary)
11379 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11380 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11381 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11382 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11385 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11390 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11391 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11392 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11395 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11396 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11397 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11400 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11401 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11402 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11406 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11407 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11408 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11411 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11412 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11413 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11416 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11417 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11418 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11423 @node Article Buffer
11424 @chapter Article Buffer
11425 @cindex article buffer
11427 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11428 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11429 tell Gnus otherwise.
11432 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11433 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11434 * HTML:: Reading @acronym{HTML} messages.
11435 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11436 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11437 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11441 @node Hiding Headers
11442 @section Hiding Headers
11443 @cindex hiding headers
11444 @cindex deleting headers
11446 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11447 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11449 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11450 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11451 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11452 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11453 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11454 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11455 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11456 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11457 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11459 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11463 @item gnus-visible-headers
11464 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11465 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11466 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11467 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11469 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11470 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11473 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11476 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11479 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11480 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11481 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11482 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11483 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11484 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11486 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11487 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11490 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11493 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11496 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11497 variable will have no effect.
11501 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11502 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11503 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11504 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11505 the headers are to be displayed.
11507 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11508 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11511 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11514 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11515 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11517 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11518 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11519 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11520 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11521 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11522 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11523 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11526 These conditions are:
11529 Remove all empty headers.
11531 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11532 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11534 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11535 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11538 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11541 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11542 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11544 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11545 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11547 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11548 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11550 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11553 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11555 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11558 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11561 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11562 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11565 This is also the default value for this variable.
11569 @section Using MIME
11570 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11572 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11573 while people stand around yawning.
11575 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11576 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11578 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11579 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11580 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11582 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11583 @findex gnus-display-mime
11584 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11585 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11586 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11587 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11589 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11590 @acronym{MIME} button:
11593 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11594 @item RET (Article)
11595 @kindex RET (Article)
11596 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11597 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11598 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11599 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11600 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11601 object is displayed inline.
11603 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11604 @item M-RET (Article)
11605 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11607 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11608 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11610 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11612 @kindex t (Article)
11613 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11614 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11616 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11618 @kindex C (Article)
11619 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11620 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11622 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11624 @kindex o (Article)
11625 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11626 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11628 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11629 @item C-o (Article)
11630 @kindex C-o (Article)
11631 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11632 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11633 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11634 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11635 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11636 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11638 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11640 @kindex r (Article)
11641 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11642 external body referring to the file via the message/external-body
11643 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11645 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11647 @kindex d (Article)
11648 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11649 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11650 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11652 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11654 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11656 @kindex c (Article)
11657 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11658 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11659 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11660 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11661 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11662 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11663 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11664 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11666 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11668 @kindex p (Article)
11669 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11670 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11671 @file{.mailcap} file.
11673 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11675 @kindex i (Article)
11676 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11677 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
11678 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11679 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11680 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11681 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11682 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11683 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11684 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11686 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11688 @kindex E (Article)
11689 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11690 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11691 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11693 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11695 @kindex e (Article)
11696 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11697 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11699 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11701 @kindex | (Article)
11702 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11704 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11706 @kindex . (Article)
11707 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11708 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11712 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11713 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11714 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11716 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11717 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11718 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11719 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11720 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11721 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11722 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11723 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11724 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11726 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11728 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11732 @section @acronym{HTML}
11733 @cindex @acronym{HTML}
11735 If you have @code{w3m} installed on your system, Gnus can display
11736 @acronym{HTML} articles in the article buffer. There are many Gnus
11737 add-ons for doing this, using various approaches, but there's one
11738 (sort of) built-in method that's used by default.
11740 For a complete overview, consult @xref{Display Customization,
11741 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. This
11742 section only describes the default method.
11745 @item mm-text-html-renderer
11746 @vindex mm-text-html-renderer
11747 If set to @code{gnus-article-html}, Gnus will use the built-in method,
11748 that's based on @code{w3m}.
11750 @item gnus-blocked-images
11751 @vindex gnus-blocked-images
11752 External images that have @acronym{URL}s that match this regexp won't
11753 be fetched and displayed. For instance, do block all @acronym{URL}s
11754 that have the string ``ads'' in them, do the following:
11757 (setq gnus-blocked-images "ads")
11760 This can also be a function to be evaluated. If so, it will be
11761 called with the group name as the parameter. The default value is
11762 @code{gnus-block-private-groups}, which will return @samp{"."} for
11763 anything that isn't a newsgroup. This means that no external images
11764 will be fetched as a result of reading mail, so that nobody can use
11765 web bugs (and the like) to track whether you've read email.
11767 Also @pxref{Misc Article} for @code{gnus-inhibit-images}.
11769 @item gnus-html-cache-directory
11770 @vindex gnus-html-cache-directory
11771 Gnus will download and cache images according to how
11772 @code{gnus-blocked-images} is set. These images will be stored in
11775 @item gnus-html-cache-size
11776 @vindex gnus-html-cache-size
11777 When @code{gnus-html-cache-size} bytes have been used in that
11778 directory, the oldest files will be deleted. The default is 500MB.
11780 @item gnus-html-frame-width
11781 @vindex gnus-html-frame-width
11782 The width to use when rendering HTML. The default is 70.
11784 @item gnus-max-image-proportion
11785 @vindex gnus-max-image-proportion
11786 How big pictures displayed are in relation to the window they're in.
11787 A value of 0.7 (the default) means that they are allowed to take up
11788 70% of the width and height of the window. If they are larger than
11789 this, and Emacs supports it, then the images will be rescaled down to
11790 fit these criteria.
11794 To use this, make sure that you have @code{w3m} and @code{curl}
11795 installed. If you have, then Gnus should display @acronym{HTML}
11800 @node Customizing Articles
11801 @section Customizing Articles
11802 @cindex article customization
11804 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11805 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11806 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11807 called automatically when you select the articles.
11809 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11810 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11811 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11812 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11814 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11815 for sensible values.
11819 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11822 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11825 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11828 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11831 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11834 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11838 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11839 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11840 regexps in the list.
11843 A list where the first element is not a string:
11845 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11846 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11847 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11851 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11856 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11857 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11858 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11859 considered to contain just a single part.
11861 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11862 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11863 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11864 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11865 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11866 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11867 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11870 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11871 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11873 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11874 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11875 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11876 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11877 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11878 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11879 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11880 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11881 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11882 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11883 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11884 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11885 @vindex gnus-treat-date
11886 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11887 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11888 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11889 @vindex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
11890 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
11891 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11892 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11893 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11894 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11895 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11896 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11897 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11898 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11899 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11900 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11901 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11902 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11903 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11904 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11905 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11906 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11907 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11908 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11909 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11910 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11911 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11912 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11913 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11916 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11917 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11918 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11919 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11922 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11923 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11925 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11927 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11928 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11929 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11930 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11931 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11932 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11933 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11934 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11935 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11936 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11938 @xref{Article Washing}.
11940 @item gnus-treat-date (head)
11942 This will transform/add date headers according to the
11943 @code{gnus-article-date-headers} variable. This is a list of Date
11944 headers to display. The formats available are:
11948 Universal time, aka GMT, aka ZULU.
11951 The user's local time zone.
11954 A semi-readable English sentence.
11957 The time elapsed since the message was posted.
11959 @item combined-lapsed
11960 Both the original date header and a (shortened) elapsed time.
11963 The original date header.
11966 ISO8601 format, i.e., ``2010-11-23T22:05:21''.
11969 A format done according to the @code{gnus-article-time-format}
11974 @xref{Article Date}.
11976 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11977 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11978 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11982 @item gnus-treat-from-gravatar (head)
11983 @item gnus-treat-mail-gravatar (head)
11987 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11989 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11991 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11992 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11993 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11997 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11998 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
12002 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
12003 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
12007 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
12008 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12009 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12010 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12011 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12012 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12013 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12014 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12015 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12016 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12017 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12018 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12019 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12020 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12021 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12022 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12023 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12024 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12025 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12026 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12028 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12030 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12031 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12032 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12033 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12034 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12035 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12037 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12039 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12040 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12041 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12042 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12043 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12045 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12046 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12047 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12048 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12049 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12050 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12051 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12052 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12054 @xref{Article Header}.
12059 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12060 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12061 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12062 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12063 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12067 @node Article Keymap
12068 @section Article Keymap
12070 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12071 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12072 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12073 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12076 @kindex v (Article)
12077 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12078 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12079 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12081 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12086 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12087 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12088 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12089 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12092 @kindex DEL (Article)
12093 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12094 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12095 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12098 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12099 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12100 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12101 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12102 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12105 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12106 @findex gnus-article-mail
12107 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12108 given a prefix, include the mail.
12111 @kindex s (Article)
12112 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12113 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12114 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12117 @kindex ? (Article)
12118 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12119 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12120 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12123 @kindex TAB (Article)
12124 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12125 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12126 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12129 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12130 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12131 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12134 @kindex R (Article)
12135 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12136 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12137 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12138 only yank the text in the region.
12141 @kindex S W (Article)
12142 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12143 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12144 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12145 active, only yank the text in the region.
12148 @kindex F (Article)
12149 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12150 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12151 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12152 only yank the text in the region.
12159 @section Misc Article
12163 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12164 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12165 @cindex article buffers, several
12166 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12167 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12170 @item gnus-widen-article-window
12171 @cindex gnus-widen-article-window
12172 If non-@code{nil}, selecting the article buffer with the @kbd{h}
12173 command will ``widen'' the article window to take the entire frame.
12175 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12176 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12177 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12178 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12179 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12181 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12182 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12183 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12184 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12185 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12186 the contents of the article buffer.
12188 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12189 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12190 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12192 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12193 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12194 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12195 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12197 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12198 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12199 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12200 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12202 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12203 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12204 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12205 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12206 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12207 with two extensions:
12212 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12213 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12214 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12219 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12222 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12225 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12226 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12227 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
12230 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12233 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12236 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12241 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12245 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12247 @item gnus-break-pages
12248 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12249 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12250 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12251 paging will not be done.
12253 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12254 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12255 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12259 @cindex internationalized domain names
12260 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12261 @item gnus-use-idna
12262 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12263 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12264 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12265 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12266 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12267 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12269 @vindex gnus-inhibit-images
12270 @item gnus-inhibit-images
12271 If this is non-@code{nil}, inhibit displaying of images inline in the
12272 article body. It is effective to images that are in articles as
12273 @acronym{MIME} parts, and images in @acronym{HTML} articles rendered
12274 when @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization,
12275 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) is
12276 @code{shr} or @code{gnus-w3m}.
12281 @node Composing Messages
12282 @chapter Composing Messages
12283 @cindex composing messages
12286 @cindex sending mail
12291 @cindex using s/mime
12292 @cindex using smime
12294 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12295 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12296 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12297 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12298 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12299 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12302 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12303 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12304 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12305 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12306 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12307 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12308 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12309 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12310 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12313 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12314 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12320 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12323 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12324 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12325 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12326 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12327 @code{nil} include all headers.
12329 @item gnus-add-to-list
12330 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
12331 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
12332 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
12334 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12335 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12336 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
12337 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
12338 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
12339 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
12340 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
12341 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
12343 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
12344 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
12346 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12347 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12348 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
12349 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
12350 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
12355 @node Posting Server
12356 @section Posting Server
12358 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
12359 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
12361 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
12363 It can be quite complicated.
12365 @vindex gnus-post-method
12366 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
12367 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
12368 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
12369 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
12370 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
12371 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
12372 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
12373 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
12374 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
12377 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
12380 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
12381 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
12382 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
12383 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
12385 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
12386 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
12388 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
12389 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
12392 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
12393 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
12395 @vindex message-send-mail-function
12396 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
12397 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
12398 value suitable for your system.
12399 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
12402 @node POP before SMTP
12403 @section POP before SMTP
12404 @cindex pop before smtp
12405 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
12406 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
12408 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
12409 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
12410 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
12411 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
12412 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12415 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
12416 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
12420 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
12421 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
12422 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
12423 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
12424 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
12425 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
12426 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
12427 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
12429 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
12430 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
12431 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
12432 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
12433 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
12434 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
12437 (setq mail-source-primary-source
12438 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12439 :password "secret"))
12443 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
12444 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
12447 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12449 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12450 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12451 :password "secret")))
12452 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12455 @node Mail and Post
12456 @section Mail and Post
12458 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12462 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12463 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12464 @cindex mailing lists
12466 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12467 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12468 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12469 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12470 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12471 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12472 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12473 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12474 still a pain, though.
12476 @item gnus-user-agent
12477 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12480 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12481 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12482 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12483 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12484 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12485 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12486 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12490 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12491 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12492 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12495 @findex ispell-message
12497 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12500 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12501 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12504 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12508 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12509 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12511 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12514 Modify to suit your needs.
12516 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12517 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12518 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12521 @node Archived Messages
12522 @section Archived Messages
12523 @cindex archived messages
12524 @cindex sent messages
12526 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12527 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12528 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12529 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12532 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12533 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12536 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12537 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12538 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
12539 actually being used it is expanded into:
12542 (nnfolder "archive"
12543 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12544 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12545 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12546 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12550 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
12551 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
12552 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
12553 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
12554 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
12555 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
12556 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12557 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
12558 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
12559 saved method to reflect always the value of
12560 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
12561 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
12562 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
12565 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12566 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12567 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12568 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12571 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12572 '(nnfolder "archive"
12573 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12574 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12575 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12578 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12580 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12581 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12582 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12584 This variable can be used to do the following:
12588 Messages will be saved in that group.
12590 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12591 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12592 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12593 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12594 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12595 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12596 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12597 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12600 @item a list of strings
12601 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12603 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12604 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12607 No message archiving will take place.
12612 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12614 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12617 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12619 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12622 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12624 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12625 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12626 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12627 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12630 More complex stuff:
12632 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12633 '((if (message-news-p)
12638 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12639 messages in one file per month:
12642 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12643 '((if (message-news-p)
12645 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12648 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12649 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12650 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12651 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12652 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12653 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12654 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12655 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12656 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12657 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12660 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12661 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12662 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12664 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12665 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12666 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12667 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12668 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12669 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12670 changed in the future.
12675 @node Posting Styles
12676 @section Posting Styles
12677 @cindex posting styles
12680 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12682 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12683 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12684 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12687 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12688 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12689 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12690 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12691 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12696 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12697 (organization "What me?"))
12699 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12700 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12701 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12704 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12705 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12706 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12707 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12708 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12709 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12710 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12711 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12713 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12714 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12715 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12716 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12717 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12718 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12719 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12720 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12721 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12722 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12723 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12724 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12725 said to @dfn{match}.
12727 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12728 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12729 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12730 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12731 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12732 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12733 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12734 name can be one of:
12737 @item @code{signature}
12738 @item @code{signature-file}
12739 @item @code{x-face-file}
12740 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12741 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12745 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12746 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12748 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12749 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12750 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12751 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12752 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12754 The attribute value can be a string, a function with zero arguments
12755 (the return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used)
12756 or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be
12757 used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12758 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current
12759 article are available through the @code{message-reply-headers}
12760 variable, which is a vector of the following headers: number subject
12761 from date id references chars lines xref extra.
12763 In the case of a string value, if the @code{match} is a regular
12764 expression, a @samp{gnus-match-substitute-replacement} is proceed on
12765 the value to replace the positional parameters @samp{\@var{n}} by the
12766 corresponding parenthetical matches (see @xref{Replacing the Text that
12767 Matched, , Text Replacement, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.)
12769 @vindex message-reply-headers
12771 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12772 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12773 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12775 @findex message-mail-p
12776 @findex message-news-p
12778 So here's a new example:
12781 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12783 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12785 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12786 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12787 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12789 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12790 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12791 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12792 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12793 (signature my-news-signature))
12794 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12795 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12796 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12797 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12798 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12799 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12800 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12801 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12802 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12803 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12805 (From (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
12806 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12808 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12811 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12812 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12813 if you fill many roles.
12814 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12815 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12821 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12822 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12823 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12824 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12825 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12827 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12828 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12829 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12830 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12831 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12835 @vindex nndraft-directory
12836 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12837 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12838 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12839 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12840 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12841 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12843 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12844 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12845 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12846 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12847 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12848 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12849 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12850 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12851 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12853 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12854 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12855 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12856 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12857 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12858 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12859 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12860 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12861 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12862 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12863 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12864 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12865 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12866 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12868 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12869 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12870 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12872 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12873 @kindex D e (Draft)
12874 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12875 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12876 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12878 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12881 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12882 @kindex D s (Draft)
12883 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12884 @kindex D S (Draft)
12885 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12886 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12887 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12888 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12889 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12892 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12893 @kindex D t (Draft)
12894 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12895 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12896 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12898 Finally, if you want to delete a draft, use the normal @kbd{B DEL}
12899 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12902 @node Rejected Articles
12903 @section Rejected Articles
12904 @cindex rejected articles
12906 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12907 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12908 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12909 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12911 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12912 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12913 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12914 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12915 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12917 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12918 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12919 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12921 @node Signing and encrypting
12922 @section Signing and encrypting
12924 @cindex using s/mime
12925 @cindex using smime
12927 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12928 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12929 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12930 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12932 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12933 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12934 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12935 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12936 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12937 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12938 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12939 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12940 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12941 automatically encrypted messages.
12943 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12944 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12945 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12950 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12951 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12953 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12956 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12957 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12959 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12962 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12963 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12965 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12968 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12969 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12971 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12974 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12975 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12977 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12980 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12981 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12983 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12986 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12987 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12988 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12992 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12994 @node Select Methods
12995 @chapter Select Methods
12996 @cindex foreign groups
12997 @cindex select methods
12999 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
13000 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
13001 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
13002 personal mail group.
13004 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
13005 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
13006 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
13007 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
13008 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13009 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13011 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13012 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13014 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13017 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13018 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13019 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13020 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13021 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13023 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13026 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13027 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13028 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
13029 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13030 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13031 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
13032 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13033 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13034 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13038 @node Server Buffer
13039 @section Server Buffer
13041 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13042 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13043 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13044 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13045 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13046 back end represents a virtual server.
13048 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13049 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13050 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13051 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13053 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13054 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13055 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13056 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13057 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13058 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13059 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13061 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13062 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13065 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13066 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13067 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13068 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13069 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13070 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13071 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13074 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13075 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13078 @node Server Buffer Format
13079 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13080 @cindex server buffer format
13082 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13083 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13084 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13085 variable, with some simple extensions:
13090 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13093 The name of this server.
13096 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13099 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13102 Whether this server is agentized.
13105 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13106 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13107 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13108 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13118 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13121 @node Server Commands
13122 @subsection Server Commands
13123 @cindex server commands
13129 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13130 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13131 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13135 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13136 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13140 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13141 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13145 @findex gnus-server-show-server
13146 Show the definition of a server (@code{gnus-server-show-server}).
13149 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13150 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13151 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13155 @findex gnus-server-exit
13156 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13160 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13161 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13165 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13166 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13170 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13171 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13175 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13176 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13180 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13181 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13182 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13187 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13188 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13189 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13190 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13194 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13196 Compact all groups in the server under point
13197 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13198 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13199 hence getting a correct total article count.
13203 Some more commands for closing, disabling, and re-opening servers are
13204 listed in @ref{Unavailable Servers}.
13207 @node Example Methods
13208 @subsection Example Methods
13210 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13213 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13216 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13222 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13223 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13226 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13227 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13229 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13230 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13234 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13237 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13238 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13240 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13241 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13242 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13246 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13249 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13252 Here's the method for a public spool:
13256 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13257 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13263 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13264 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13265 on the firewall machine and connect with
13266 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13267 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13268 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13269 should probably look something like this:
13273 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13274 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13275 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13278 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13279 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13280 configuration to the example above:
13283 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13286 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13287 an indirect connection:
13290 (setq gnus-select-method
13292 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13293 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13294 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13295 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13296 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13297 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13300 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13301 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13303 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13304 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13305 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13309 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13310 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13311 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13315 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13316 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13318 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13319 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
13321 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
13322 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
13323 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
13325 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
13327 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
13328 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
13329 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
13330 will contain the following:
13340 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
13341 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
13344 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
13345 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
13346 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
13349 @node Server Variables
13350 @subsection Server Variables
13351 @cindex server variables
13352 @cindex server parameters
13354 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
13355 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
13356 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
13357 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
13358 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
13360 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
13361 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
13362 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
13363 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
13364 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
13365 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
13366 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
13367 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
13368 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
13372 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
13373 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
13374 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
13377 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
13379 @node Servers and Methods
13380 @subsection Servers and Methods
13382 Wherever you would normally use a select method
13383 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
13384 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
13385 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
13389 @node Unavailable Servers
13390 @subsection Unavailable Servers
13392 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
13393 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
13394 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
13395 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
13396 actually the case or not.
13398 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
13399 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
13400 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
13401 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
13402 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
13403 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
13404 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
13405 it will regard that server as ``down''.
13407 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
13408 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
13410 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
13411 with the following commands:
13417 @findex gnus-server-open-server
13418 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
13419 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
13423 @findex gnus-server-close-server
13424 Close the connection (if any) to the server
13425 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
13429 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
13430 Mark the current server as unreachable
13431 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
13434 @kindex M-o (Server)
13435 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
13436 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
13437 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
13440 @kindex M-c (Server)
13441 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
13442 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
13443 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
13447 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
13448 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
13449 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
13453 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13454 Copy a server and give it a new name
13455 (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}). This can be useful if you have a
13456 complex method definition, and want to use the same definition towards
13457 a different (physical) server.
13461 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
13462 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13468 @section Getting News
13469 @cindex reading news
13470 @cindex news back ends
13472 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13473 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13474 or it can read from a local spool.
13477 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13478 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13486 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13487 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13488 server as the, uhm, address.
13490 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13491 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13492 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13493 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13495 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13496 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13497 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13499 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13504 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13505 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13506 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13508 @cindex authentication
13509 @cindex nntp authentication
13510 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13511 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13512 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13513 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13514 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13515 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13516 present in this hook.
13518 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13519 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13520 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13521 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13522 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13523 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13524 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13525 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13526 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13527 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13528 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13529 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13533 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13536 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13538 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13539 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13540 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13541 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13542 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13543 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13544 @samp{force} is explained below.
13548 Here's an example file:
13551 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13552 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13555 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13556 have to be first, for instance.
13558 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13559 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13560 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13561 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13562 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13563 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13564 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13566 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13567 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13573 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13574 previously mentioned.
13576 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13578 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13579 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13580 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13581 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13582 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13585 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13586 '(("innd" (ding))))
13589 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13591 The default value is
13594 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13595 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13596 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13599 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13600 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13602 @item nntp-maximum-request
13603 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13604 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13605 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13606 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13607 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13608 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13609 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13611 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13612 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13613 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13614 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13615 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13616 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13617 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13618 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13619 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13620 no timeouts are done.
13622 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13623 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13624 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13625 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13628 @item nntp-xover-commands
13629 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13630 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13632 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13633 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13637 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13638 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13639 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13640 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13641 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13642 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13643 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13644 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13645 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13646 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13647 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13649 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13650 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13651 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
13652 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
13653 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
13654 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
13655 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
13656 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
13657 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
13658 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
13659 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
13660 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
13661 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
13662 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
13663 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
13664 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
13665 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
13668 (setq gnus-select-method
13670 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
13671 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
13675 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
13677 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13678 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13679 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13681 @item nntp-record-commands
13682 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13683 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13684 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13685 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13686 that doesn't seem to work.
13688 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13689 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13690 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13691 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13692 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13693 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13694 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13695 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13697 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13698 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13699 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13700 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13701 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13702 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13703 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13704 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13705 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13707 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13708 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13709 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13710 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13711 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13712 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13713 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13715 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13716 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13717 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13718 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13719 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13720 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13721 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13724 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13727 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13728 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13730 @item nntp-server-list-active-group
13731 If @code{nil}, then always use @samp{GROUP} instead of @samp{LIST
13732 ACTIVE}. This is usually slower, but on misconfigured servers that
13733 don't update their active files often, this can help.
13739 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13740 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13741 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13742 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13746 @node Direct Functions
13747 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13748 @cindex direct connection functions
13750 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13751 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13752 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13753 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13756 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13757 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13758 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13759 remote system. If both Emacs and the server supports it, the
13760 connection will be upgraded to an encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS}
13761 connection automatically.
13764 The same as the above, but don't do automatic @acronym{STARTTLS} upgrades.
13766 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13767 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13768 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13769 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GnuTLS}
13770 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13773 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13774 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13776 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13777 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13778 (nntp-port-number 563)
13779 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13782 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13783 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13784 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13785 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13786 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13787 then define a server as follows:
13790 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13791 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13793 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13794 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13795 (nntp-port-number 563)
13796 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13799 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
13800 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
13801 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
13802 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
13803 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13804 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13805 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13806 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13810 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13811 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13812 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13815 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13816 session, which is not a good idea.
13818 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13819 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13820 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
13821 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
13822 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
13823 not available. The previous example would turn into:
13827 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13828 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13829 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
13830 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
13835 @node Indirect Functions
13836 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13837 @cindex indirect connection functions
13839 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13840 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13841 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13842 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13843 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13844 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13847 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13848 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13849 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
13850 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13851 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13853 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13856 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13857 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13858 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13859 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13861 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13862 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13863 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13864 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13865 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13866 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
13869 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13870 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13871 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
13872 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13873 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
13874 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
13876 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13879 @item nntp-telnet-command
13880 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13881 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13882 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
13884 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13885 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13886 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13887 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
13889 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13890 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13891 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13892 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13894 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13895 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13896 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13897 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
13898 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13899 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13900 host. The default is @code{nil}.
13903 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13904 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13906 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13907 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13908 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13909 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13911 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13914 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13915 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13916 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13919 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13920 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13921 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13922 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13924 @item nntp-via-user-password
13925 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13926 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13928 @item nntp-via-envuser
13929 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13930 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13931 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13932 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13934 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13935 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13936 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13937 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13941 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13942 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13946 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13951 @item nntp-via-user-name
13952 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13953 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13955 @item nntp-via-address
13956 @vindex nntp-via-address
13957 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13962 @node Common Variables
13963 @subsubsection Common Variables
13965 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13966 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13967 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13968 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13969 variables individually).
13973 @item nntp-pre-command
13974 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13975 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13976 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13977 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13978 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13981 @vindex nntp-address
13982 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13984 @item nntp-port-number
13985 @vindex nntp-port-number
13986 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13987 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13988 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13989 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13990 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13991 not work with named ports.
13993 @item nntp-end-of-line
13994 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13995 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13996 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13997 using a non native telnet connection function.
13999 @item nntp-netcat-command
14000 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
14001 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
14002 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
14003 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
14006 @item nntp-netcat-switches
14007 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
14008 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14014 @subsubsection NNTP marks
14015 @cindex storing NNTP marks
14017 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
14018 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
14019 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
14020 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
14021 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
14022 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
14023 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
14024 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
14026 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
14027 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
14028 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
14029 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
14030 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14032 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
14033 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
14034 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
14035 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
14036 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
14037 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
14038 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
14040 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
14041 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
14042 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14048 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
14049 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
14050 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
14051 default is @code{nil}.
14053 @item nntp-marks-directory
14054 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
14055 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
14061 @subsection News Spool
14065 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14066 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14067 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14070 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14071 anything else) as the address.
14073 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14074 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14075 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14076 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14080 @item nnspool-inews-program
14081 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14082 Program used to post an article.
14084 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14085 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14086 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14088 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14089 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14090 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14091 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14093 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14094 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14095 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14096 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14098 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14099 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14100 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14102 @item nnspool-active-file
14103 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14104 The name of the active file.
14106 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14107 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14108 The name of the group descriptions file.
14110 @item nnspool-history-file
14111 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14112 The name of the news history file.
14114 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14115 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14116 The name of the active date file.
14118 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14119 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14120 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14123 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14124 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14126 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14127 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14128 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14135 @section Using IMAP
14138 The most popular mail backend is probably @code{nnimap}, which
14139 provides access to @acronym{IMAP} servers. @acronym{IMAP} servers
14140 store mail remotely, so the client doesn't store anything locally.
14141 This means that it's a convenient choice when you're reading your mail
14142 from different locations, or with different user agents.
14145 * Connecting to an IMAP Server:: Getting started with @acronym{IMAP}.
14146 * Customizing the IMAP Connection:: Variables for @acronym{IMAP} connection.
14147 * Client-Side IMAP Splitting:: Put mail in the correct mail box.
14151 @node Connecting to an IMAP Server
14152 @subsection Connecting to an IMAP Server
14154 Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} can be very easy. Type @kbd{B} in the
14155 group buffer, or (if your primary interest is reading email), say
14159 (setq gnus-select-method
14160 '(nnimap "imap.gmail.com"))
14163 You'll be prompted for a user name and password. If you grow tired of
14164 that, then add the following to your @file{~/.authinfo} file:
14167 machine imap.gmail.com login <username> password <password> port imap
14170 That should basically be it for most users.
14173 @node Customizing the IMAP Connection
14174 @subsection Customizing the IMAP Connection
14176 Here's an example method that's more complex:
14179 (nnimap "imap.gmail.com"
14180 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14181 (nnimap-split-methods default)
14183 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14187 @item nnimap-address
14188 The address of the server, like @samp{imap.gmail.com}.
14190 @item nnimap-server-port
14191 If the server uses a non-standard port, that can be specified here. A
14192 typical port would be @code{"imap"} or @code{"imaps"}.
14194 @item nnimap-stream
14195 How @code{nnimap} should connect to the server. Possible values are:
14199 This is the default, and this first tries the @code{ssl} setting, and
14200 then tries the @code{network} setting.
14203 This uses standard @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14206 Non-encrypted and unsafe straight socket connection, but will upgrade
14207 to encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} if both Emacs and the server
14211 Encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} over the normal @acronym{IMAP} port.
14214 If you need to tunnel via other systems to connect to the server, you
14215 can use this option, and customize @code{nnimap-shell-program} to be
14220 @item nnimap-authenticator
14221 Some @acronym{IMAP} servers allow anonymous logins. In that case,
14222 this should be set to @code{anonymous}.
14224 @item nnimap-expunge
14225 If non-@code{nil}, expunge articles after deleting them. This is always done
14226 if the server supports UID EXPUNGE, but it's not done by default on
14227 servers that doesn't support that command.
14229 @item nnimap-streaming
14230 Virtually all @code{IMAP} server support fast streaming of data. If
14231 you have problems connecting to the server, try setting this to @code{nil}.
14233 @item nnimap-fetch-partial-articles
14234 If non-@code{nil}, fetch partial articles from the server. If set to
14235 a string, then it's interpreted as a regexp, and parts that have
14236 matching types will be fetched. For instance, @samp{"text/"} will
14237 fetch all textual parts, while leaving the rest on the server.
14242 @node Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14243 @subsection Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14245 Many people prefer to do the sorting/splitting of mail into their mail
14246 boxes on the @acronym{IMAP} server. That way they don't have to
14247 download the mail they're not all that interested in.
14249 If you do want to do client-side mail splitting, then the following
14250 variables are relevant:
14254 This is the @acronym{IMAP} mail box that will be scanned for new mail.
14256 @item nnimap-split-methods
14257 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-methods} (@pxref{Splitting
14258 Mail}), except the symbol @code{default}, which means that it should
14259 use the value of the @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable.
14261 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14262 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14264 @item nnimap-unsplittable-articles
14265 List of flag symbols to ignore when doing splitting. That is,
14266 articles that have these flags won't be considered when splitting.
14267 The default is @samp{(%Deleted %Seen)}.
14271 Here's a complete example @code{nnimap} backend with a client-side
14272 ``fancy'' splitting method:
14275 (nnimap "imap.example.com"
14276 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14277 (nnimap-split-methods
14278 (| ("MailScanner-SpamCheck" "spam" "spam.detected")
14279 (to "foo@@bar.com" "foo")
14285 @section Getting Mail
14286 @cindex reading mail
14289 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
14293 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14294 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14295 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14296 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14297 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14298 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14299 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14300 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14301 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14302 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14303 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14304 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14305 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14309 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14310 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14312 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14313 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14314 of a culture shock.
14316 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14317 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14319 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14320 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14321 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14322 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14324 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14326 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14327 deleted? How awful!
14329 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14330 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14331 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14332 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14335 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14336 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14337 they want to treat a message.
14339 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14340 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14341 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14342 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14343 archived somewhere else.
14345 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14346 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14347 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14348 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14349 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
14351 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
14352 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
14353 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
14355 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
14356 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
14359 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
14360 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
14361 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
14362 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
14363 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
14365 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
14366 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
14367 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
14368 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
14369 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
14370 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
14374 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
14375 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
14377 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
14378 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
14379 and things will happen automatically.
14381 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
14382 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14385 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14388 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
14389 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
14390 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
14391 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
14392 like any other group.
14394 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
14397 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14398 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14399 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14403 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
14404 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
14405 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
14408 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
14409 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
14410 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
14413 @node Splitting Mail
14414 @subsection Splitting Mail
14415 @cindex splitting mail
14416 @cindex mail splitting
14417 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
14419 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
14420 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
14421 to be split into groups.
14424 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14425 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14426 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14427 ("mail.other" "")))
14430 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
14431 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
14432 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
14433 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
14434 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
14435 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
14436 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
14439 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
14443 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
14444 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14446 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14447 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
14448 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
14449 mail belongs in that group.
14451 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
14452 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
14453 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
14454 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
14455 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
14456 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
14457 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
14458 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
14459 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
14460 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
14462 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
14463 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
14464 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
14465 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
14466 thinks should carry this mail message.
14468 This variable can also be a fancy split method. For the syntax,
14469 see @ref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14471 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
14472 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
14473 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
14474 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
14476 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
14477 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
14478 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
14479 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
14480 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
14482 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
14485 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
14486 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
14487 links. If that's the case for you, set
14488 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
14489 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
14491 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
14492 @findex nnmail-split-history
14493 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
14494 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
14495 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
14496 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
14499 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
14500 Header lines longer than the value of
14501 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
14504 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
14505 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
14506 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
14507 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
14508 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
14509 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
14510 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
14511 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
14512 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
14513 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
14514 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
14515 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
14517 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14518 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
14519 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
14520 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
14521 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
14522 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
14523 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
14524 other kinds of entries.)
14526 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
14527 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
14528 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
14529 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
14530 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
14531 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
14532 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
14533 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
14534 month's rent money.
14538 @subsection Mail Sources
14540 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
14541 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
14542 maildir, for instance.
14545 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
14546 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
14547 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
14551 @node Mail Source Specifiers
14552 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
14554 @cindex mail server
14557 @cindex mail source
14559 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
14560 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
14565 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
14568 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
14569 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
14570 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
14573 The @code{mail-sources} is global for all mail groups. You can specify
14574 an additional mail source for a particular group by including the
14575 @code{group} mail specifier in @code{mail-sources}, and setting a
14576 @code{mail-source} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) specifying
14577 a single mail source. When this is used, @code{mail-sources} is
14578 typically just @code{(group)}; the @code{mail-source} parameter for a
14579 group might look like this:
14582 (mail-source . (file :path "home/user/spools/foo.spool"))
14585 This means that the group's (and only this group's) messages will be
14586 fetched from the spool file @samp{/user/spools/foo.spool}.
14588 The following mail source types are available:
14592 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
14598 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
14599 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
14600 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
14604 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14607 An example file mail source:
14610 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
14613 Or using the default file name:
14619 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
14620 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
14621 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
14622 mail spool while moving the mail.
14624 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
14628 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
14631 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
14635 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
14638 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
14640 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
14643 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
14644 file you want to use.
14648 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
14649 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
14650 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
14651 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
14652 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
14653 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
14654 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
14655 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
14656 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
14657 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
14659 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14660 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
14661 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
14662 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
14668 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
14672 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
14676 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
14677 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
14678 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
14679 predicate are considered.
14683 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14687 An example directory mail source:
14690 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
14695 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14701 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
14702 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14705 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
14706 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
14707 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
14708 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
14709 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14712 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14716 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14717 the user is prompted.
14720 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14721 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14724 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14727 The valid format specifier characters are:
14731 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14732 included in this string.
14735 The name of the server.
14738 The port number of the server.
14741 The user name to use.
14744 The password to use.
14747 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14748 corresponding keywords.
14751 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14752 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14755 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14756 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14759 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14760 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14761 mail should be moved to.
14763 @item :authentication
14764 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14765 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14770 @vindex pop3-movemail
14771 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14772 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14773 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14774 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14775 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14776 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14777 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14778 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14779 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14781 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14782 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14783 name, and default fetcher:
14789 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14792 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14793 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14796 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14799 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14803 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14804 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14805 contains exactly one mail.
14811 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14812 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14815 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14816 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14818 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14819 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14820 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14823 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14824 from locking problems).
14828 Two example maildir mail sources:
14831 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14832 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14836 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14841 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14842 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14843 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14844 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14845 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{Using IMAP}, for more information.
14851 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14852 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14855 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14856 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14859 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14863 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14867 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14868 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14869 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14870 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14872 @item :authentication
14873 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14874 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14875 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14876 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14879 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14880 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14881 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14887 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
14888 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
14889 specifier characters are:
14893 The name of the server.
14896 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14899 The port number of the server.
14902 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14903 corresponding keywords.
14906 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14907 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
14910 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14911 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14912 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14913 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14914 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14915 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14918 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14919 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14920 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14921 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14924 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14925 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14929 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14932 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14934 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14938 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
14939 @xref{Group Parameters}.
14944 @item Common Keywords
14945 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14951 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14952 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14957 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14962 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14963 useful when you use local mail and news.
14968 @subsubsection Function Interface
14970 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14971 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14972 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14973 consider the following mail-source setting:
14976 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14977 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14980 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14981 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14982 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14983 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14984 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14986 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14989 @node Mail Source Customization
14990 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14992 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14993 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14997 @item mail-source-crash-box
14998 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14999 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
15000 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
15003 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
15004 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
15005 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
15006 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
15007 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
15008 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15009 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15010 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15011 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15012 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15014 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15015 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15016 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15017 files. This variable only applies when
15018 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15020 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15021 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15022 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15024 @item mail-source-directory
15025 @vindex mail-source-directory
15026 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15027 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15028 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15029 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15031 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15032 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15033 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15034 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15035 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15036 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15039 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15040 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15041 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is @code{#o600}.
15043 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15044 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15045 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15046 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15051 @node Fetching Mail
15052 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15054 @vindex mail-sources
15055 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15056 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15057 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15059 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15060 fetch mail by themselves.
15062 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15063 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15068 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15069 :password "secret")))
15072 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15076 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15077 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15080 :password "secret")))
15084 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15085 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15086 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15087 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15088 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15089 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15093 @node Mail Back End Variables
15094 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15096 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15100 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15101 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15102 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15103 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15105 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15106 @item nnmail-split-hook
15107 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15108 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15109 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15110 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15111 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15112 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15113 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15114 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15115 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15118 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15119 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15120 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15121 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15122 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15123 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15124 starting to handle the new mail) and
15125 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15126 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15127 default file modes the new mail files get:
15130 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15131 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes #o700)))
15133 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15134 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes #o775)))
15137 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15138 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15139 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15140 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15141 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15142 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15143 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15145 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15146 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15147 @findex delete-file
15148 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15150 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15151 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15152 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15153 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15154 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15156 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15157 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15158 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15159 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15160 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15162 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15163 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15164 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15169 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15170 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15171 @cindex mail splitting
15172 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15174 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15175 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15176 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15177 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15178 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15179 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15181 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15184 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15185 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15186 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15187 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15189 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15190 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15191 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15192 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15193 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15194 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15195 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15196 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15197 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15198 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15199 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15200 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15201 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15202 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15203 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15204 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15205 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15209 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15210 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15211 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15216 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15217 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15219 @c Don't fold this line.
15220 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15221 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15222 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15223 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15226 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15227 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15228 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15229 @var{split} is processed.
15231 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15232 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15233 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15234 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15236 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15237 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15238 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15239 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15240 stored in one or more groups.
15242 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15243 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15244 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15247 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15248 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15250 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15251 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15252 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15253 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15256 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15257 body of the messages:
15260 (defun split-on-body ()
15264 (goto-char (point-min))
15265 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15269 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15270 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15271 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15272 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15273 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15274 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15275 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
15277 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15278 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15279 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15280 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15281 should return a split.
15284 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15288 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15290 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15291 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15292 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15293 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15297 (any "joe" "joemail")
15301 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15302 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15303 of the following three ways:
15307 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15308 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15309 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15310 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15311 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15314 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15317 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15318 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15319 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15320 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15321 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15324 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15325 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15326 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15327 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15328 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15329 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15330 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15333 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15334 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15335 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15336 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15337 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15338 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15339 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
15343 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
15345 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
15346 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
15348 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
15351 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
15352 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
15353 when all this splitting is performed.
15355 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
15356 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
15357 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
15360 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
15363 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
15364 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
15366 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
15367 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
15368 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
15369 groupings 1 through 9.
15371 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
15372 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
15373 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
15374 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
15375 groups when users send to an address using different case
15376 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
15379 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
15380 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
15381 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
15382 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
15383 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
15384 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
15385 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
15386 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
15387 it once per thread.
15389 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
15390 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
15391 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
15392 using the colon feature, like so:
15394 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
15395 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
15397 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
15398 ;; @r{other splits go here}
15402 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
15403 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
15404 in the file specified by the variable
15405 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
15406 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
15407 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
15408 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
15409 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
15410 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
15411 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
15412 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
15413 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
15414 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
15415 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
15416 300 kBytes in size.)
15417 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15418 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
15419 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
15420 messages goes into the new group.
15422 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
15423 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
15424 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
15425 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
15426 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
15427 ``outgoing'' group.
15430 @node Group Mail Splitting
15431 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
15432 @cindex mail splitting
15433 @cindex group mail splitting
15435 @findex gnus-group-split
15436 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
15437 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
15438 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
15439 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
15440 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
15441 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
15442 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
15443 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
15445 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
15446 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
15447 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
15448 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
15450 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
15451 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
15452 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
15453 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
15454 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
15455 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
15456 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
15458 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
15459 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
15460 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
15461 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
15462 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
15463 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
15464 @code{gnus-group-split}.
15466 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
15467 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
15468 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
15469 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
15470 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
15471 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
15472 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
15473 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
15474 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
15475 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
15476 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
15477 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
15478 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
15480 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
15485 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
15486 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
15488 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
15489 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
15490 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
15491 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
15493 ((split-spec . catch-all))
15496 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
15497 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
15498 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
15501 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
15502 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
15503 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
15507 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
15508 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
15509 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15513 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
15516 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
15517 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
15518 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
15519 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
15520 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
15521 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
15522 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
15523 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
15524 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
15526 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
15527 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
15528 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
15529 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
15530 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
15531 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
15532 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
15533 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
15534 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
15536 @findex gnus-group-split-update
15537 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
15538 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
15539 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
15540 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
15541 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
15544 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
15547 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
15548 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
15549 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
15550 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
15551 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
15554 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
15555 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
15556 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
15557 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
15559 @node Incorporating Old Mail
15560 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
15561 @cindex incorporating old mail
15562 @cindex import old mail
15564 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
15565 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
15566 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
15569 Doing so can be quite easy.
15571 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
15572 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
15573 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
15574 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
15575 your @code{nnml} groups.
15581 Go to the group buffer.
15584 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
15585 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15588 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
15591 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
15592 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15595 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
15596 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
15599 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
15600 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
15601 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
15602 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
15603 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
15605 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
15606 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
15607 using the new mail back end.
15610 @node Expiring Mail
15611 @subsection Expiring Mail
15612 @cindex article expiry
15613 @cindex expiring mail
15615 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
15616 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
15617 different approach to mail reading.
15619 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
15620 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
15621 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
15622 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
15623 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
15624 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
15627 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
15628 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
15629 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
15630 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
15631 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
15632 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
15633 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
15634 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
15635 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
15637 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-marks
15638 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
15639 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
15640 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
15641 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
15642 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
15643 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
15644 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} (and so on) are considered
15645 expirable. @code{gnus-auto-expirable-marks} has the full list of
15648 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
15649 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
15650 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
15651 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
15652 into its own group.)
15654 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
15655 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
15656 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
15657 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15658 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15659 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15660 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15661 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15664 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15665 Groups that match the regular expression
15666 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15667 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15668 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15670 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15671 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15672 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15673 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15674 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15676 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15678 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15679 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15680 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15683 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15684 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15685 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15686 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15687 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15689 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15690 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15693 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15694 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15697 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15698 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15700 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15701 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15702 don't really mix very well.
15704 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15705 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15706 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15707 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15710 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15711 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15712 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15713 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15716 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15718 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15720 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15722 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15724 ((string= group "important")
15730 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15731 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15733 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15734 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15735 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15738 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15739 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15741 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15742 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15743 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15744 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15745 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15746 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15747 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15748 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15749 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15750 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15751 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15752 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15753 name or @code{delete}.
15755 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15757 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15760 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15761 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15762 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15763 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15764 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15767 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15768 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15769 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15770 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15771 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15774 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15775 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15776 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15777 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15778 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15779 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15781 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15782 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15783 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15784 easier for procmail users.
15786 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15787 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15788 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15789 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15790 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15791 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15792 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15793 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15794 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15795 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15796 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15797 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15798 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15801 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15803 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15804 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15805 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15806 auto-expire turned on.
15808 @vindex gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable
15809 The expirable marks of articles will be removed when copying or moving
15810 them to a group in which auto-expire is not turned on. This is for
15811 preventing articles from being expired unintentionally. On the other
15812 hand, to a group that has turned auto-expire on, the expirable marks of
15813 articles that are copied or moved will not be changed by default. I.e.,
15814 when copying or moving to such a group, articles that were expirable
15815 will be left expirable and ones that were not expirable will not be
15816 marked as expirable. So, even though in auto-expire groups, some
15817 articles will never get expired (unless you read them again). If you
15818 don't side with that behavior that unexpirable articles may be mixed
15819 into auto-expire groups, you can set
15820 @code{gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable} to a
15821 non-@code{nil} value. In that case, articles that have been read will
15822 be marked as expirable automatically when being copied or moved to a
15823 group that has auto-expire turned on. The default value is @code{nil}.
15827 @subsection Washing Mail
15828 @cindex mail washing
15829 @cindex list server brain damage
15830 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15832 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15833 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15834 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15835 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15836 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15837 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15839 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15840 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15841 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15844 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15845 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15846 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15847 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15850 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15851 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15852 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15853 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15854 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15857 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15858 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15859 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15860 Emacs running on MS machines.
15864 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15865 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15866 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15867 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15870 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15871 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15872 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15873 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15875 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15876 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15877 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15878 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15879 into a feature by documenting it.)
15881 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15882 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15883 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15884 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15885 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15886 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15887 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15890 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15891 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15894 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15895 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15898 This can also be done non-destructively with
15899 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15901 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15902 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15903 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15905 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15906 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15907 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15910 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15911 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15912 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15913 contain a line matching the regular expression
15914 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15918 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15919 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15920 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15924 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15925 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15926 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15933 @subsection Duplicates
15935 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15936 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15937 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15938 @cindex duplicate mails
15939 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15940 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15941 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15942 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15943 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15944 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15945 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15946 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15947 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15948 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15949 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15950 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15951 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15953 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15954 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15955 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15956 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15958 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15961 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15962 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15966 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15967 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15968 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15969 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15970 (any mail "mail.misc")
15971 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15977 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15978 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15979 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15983 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15984 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15985 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15986 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15987 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15990 @node Not Reading Mail
15991 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15993 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15994 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15995 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15997 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15998 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15999 mail, which should help.
16001 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16002 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16003 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16004 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16005 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16006 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
16007 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
16008 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
16009 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
16010 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16011 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16013 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16014 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16018 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16019 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16021 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16022 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16023 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16025 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16026 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16027 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16031 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16032 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16033 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16034 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16035 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16036 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16037 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16042 @node Unix Mail Box
16043 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16045 @cindex unix mail box
16047 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16048 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16049 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16050 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16051 which group it belongs in.
16053 Virtual server settings:
16056 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16057 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16058 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16061 @item nnmbox-active-file
16062 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16063 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16064 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16066 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16067 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16068 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16069 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16074 @subsubsection Babyl
16077 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16078 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16079 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16080 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16081 group it belongs in.
16083 Virtual server settings:
16086 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16087 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16088 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16090 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16091 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16092 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16093 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16095 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16096 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16097 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16103 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16105 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16107 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16108 format. It should be used with some caution.
16110 @vindex nnml-directory
16111 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16112 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16113 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16114 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16116 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16119 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16120 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16121 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16122 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16123 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16124 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16125 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16126 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16128 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16129 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16130 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16131 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16133 @cindex self contained nnml servers
16135 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
16136 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16137 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16138 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
16139 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
16140 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
16141 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
16142 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
16145 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
16146 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
16147 them next time it starts.
16149 Virtual server settings:
16152 @item nnml-directory
16153 @vindex nnml-directory
16154 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16155 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16158 @item nnml-active-file
16159 @vindex nnml-active-file
16160 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16161 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16163 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16164 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16165 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16166 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16168 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16169 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16170 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16173 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16174 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16175 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16176 default is @code{nil}.
16178 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16179 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16180 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16182 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16183 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16184 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16186 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
16187 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
16188 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16189 default is @code{nil}.
16191 @item nnml-marks-file-name
16192 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
16193 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
16195 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16196 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16197 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16198 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16199 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16200 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16201 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16202 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16203 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16205 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16206 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16207 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16208 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16209 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16213 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16214 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16215 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16216 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16217 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16218 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16219 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16224 @subsubsection MH Spool
16226 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16228 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16229 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16230 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16231 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16234 Virtual server settings:
16237 @item nnmh-directory
16238 @vindex nnmh-directory
16239 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16240 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16243 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16244 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16245 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16249 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16250 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16251 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16252 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16253 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16254 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16255 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16260 @subsubsection Maildir
16264 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16265 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16266 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16267 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16268 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16271 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16272 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16273 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16274 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16275 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16276 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16277 that appear as group in Gnus.
16279 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16280 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16281 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16283 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16284 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16285 another, and you will keep your marks.
16287 Virtual server settings:
16291 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16292 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16293 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16294 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16295 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16296 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16297 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16298 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16299 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16300 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16302 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16303 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16304 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16305 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16306 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16307 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16308 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16309 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16310 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16311 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16314 @item target-prefix
16315 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16316 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16317 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16320 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16321 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16322 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16323 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16324 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16325 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16326 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16327 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16328 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16330 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16331 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16332 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16333 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16334 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16336 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16337 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16338 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16339 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16340 @code{force} argument.
16342 @item directory-files
16343 This should be a function with the same interface as
16344 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
16345 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
16346 parameter is optional; the default is
16347 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
16348 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
16349 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
16350 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
16351 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
16352 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
16355 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
16356 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
16357 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
16358 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
16359 value is @code{nil}.
16361 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
16362 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
16363 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
16364 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
16365 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
16368 @subsubsection Group parameters
16370 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
16371 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
16372 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
16373 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
16374 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
16375 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
16378 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
16379 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
16380 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
16381 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
16382 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
16383 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
16384 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
16385 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
16386 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
16390 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
16391 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
16392 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
16393 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
16394 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
16395 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
16396 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
16397 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
16398 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
16399 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
16400 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
16401 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
16402 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
16405 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
16407 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
16409 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
16410 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
16411 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
16412 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
16413 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
16414 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
16415 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
16416 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
16417 article. So that form can refer to
16418 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
16419 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
16420 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
16421 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
16424 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
16425 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
16426 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
16427 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
16428 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
16429 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
16430 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
16431 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
16432 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
16433 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
16434 contain extra copies of the articles.
16436 @item directory-files
16437 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
16438 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
16439 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
16440 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
16442 @item distrust-Lines:
16443 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
16444 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
16445 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
16448 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
16449 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16450 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
16451 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
16452 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
16453 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16456 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
16457 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16458 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
16459 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
16460 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
16461 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
16462 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16464 @item nov-cache-size
16465 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
16466 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
16467 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
16468 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
16469 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
16470 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
16471 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
16472 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
16473 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
16474 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
16475 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
16478 @subsubsection Article identification
16479 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
16480 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
16481 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
16482 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
16483 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
16484 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
16485 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
16486 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
16487 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
16488 request the article in the summary buffer.
16490 @subsubsection NOV data
16491 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
16492 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
16493 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
16494 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
16495 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
16496 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
16497 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
16498 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
16499 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
16500 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
16501 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
16503 @subsubsection Article marks
16504 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
16505 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
16506 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16507 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
16508 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16509 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
16510 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
16511 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
16513 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
16514 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
16515 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
16516 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
16517 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
16518 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
16519 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
16520 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
16521 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
16525 @subsubsection Mail Folders
16527 @cindex mbox folders
16528 @cindex mail folders
16530 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
16531 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
16532 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
16533 numbers and arrival dates.
16535 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
16537 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
16538 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16539 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16540 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
16541 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
16542 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
16543 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
16544 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
16545 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
16546 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
16548 Virtual server settings:
16551 @item nnfolder-directory
16552 @vindex nnfolder-directory
16553 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
16554 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
16555 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
16557 @item nnfolder-active-file
16558 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
16559 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
16561 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16562 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16563 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16564 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
16566 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
16567 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16568 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
16569 default is @code{t}
16571 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16572 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16573 @cindex backup files
16574 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
16575 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
16576 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
16577 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
16580 (defun turn-off-backup ()
16581 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
16583 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
16586 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16587 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16588 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
16589 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
16590 extract some information from it before removing it.
16592 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16593 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16594 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16595 default is @code{nil}.
16597 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16598 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16599 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
16601 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
16602 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
16603 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
16604 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16606 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16607 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16608 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16609 default is @code{nil}.
16611 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16612 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16613 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
16615 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
16616 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
16617 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
16618 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16623 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
16624 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
16625 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
16626 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
16627 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
16628 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
16631 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
16632 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
16634 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
16635 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
16636 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
16637 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
16638 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
16640 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
16641 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
16642 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
16643 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
16644 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
16645 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
16646 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
16647 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
16650 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
16651 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
16652 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
16653 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
16658 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
16659 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
16660 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
16661 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
16662 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
16663 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
16664 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
16665 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
16666 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
16667 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
16668 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
16669 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
16670 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16675 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16676 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16677 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16678 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16679 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16680 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16681 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16682 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16683 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16684 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16685 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16686 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16687 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16688 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
16689 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
16691 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16692 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16697 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16698 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16699 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16700 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16701 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16702 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16703 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16704 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16705 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16706 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16707 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16708 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16709 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16710 provided by the active file and overviews.
16712 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16713 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16714 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16715 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16716 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16719 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16720 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16725 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16726 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16727 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16728 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16729 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16730 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16731 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16735 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16736 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16737 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16738 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16739 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16740 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16741 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16742 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16743 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16745 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16746 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16747 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16748 friendly mail back end all over.
16752 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16753 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16756 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16757 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16758 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16759 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16760 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}.
16761 (Use @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this
16762 slows you down or takes up very much space, a non-block-structured
16765 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16766 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16767 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16768 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16769 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16770 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16771 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16772 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16773 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16774 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16775 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16777 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16778 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16779 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16780 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16781 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16784 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16785 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16786 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16787 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16788 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16789 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16790 removed in the future.
16792 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16793 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16794 on your file system.
16796 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16797 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16802 @node Browsing the Web
16803 @section Browsing the Web
16805 @cindex browsing the web
16809 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16810 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16811 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16812 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16813 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16814 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16815 even know what a news group is.
16817 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16818 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16819 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16820 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16821 you mad in the end.
16823 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16826 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16827 interfaces to these sources.
16831 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16832 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16833 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16836 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16837 alternatives to work.
16839 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16840 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16841 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16842 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16843 though, you should be ok.
16845 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16846 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16847 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16848 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16849 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16851 @node Archiving Mail
16852 @subsection Archiving Mail
16853 @cindex archiving mail
16854 @cindex backup of mail
16856 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16857 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16858 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16859 marks is fairly simple.
16861 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16862 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16865 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16866 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16867 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16868 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16869 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16870 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16871 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16872 before you restore the data.
16874 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16875 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16876 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16877 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16878 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16879 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16880 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16881 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16882 is unnecessary in that case.
16885 @subsection Web Searches
16890 @cindex Usenet searches
16891 @cindex searching the Usenet
16893 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16894 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16895 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16896 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16897 searches without having to use a browser.
16899 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16900 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16901 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16902 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16903 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16905 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16906 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16907 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16908 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16909 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16910 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16911 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16912 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16913 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16914 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16917 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16918 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16919 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16920 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16921 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16922 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16924 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16925 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16926 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16928 Virtual server variables:
16933 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16934 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16935 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16938 @vindex nnweb-search
16939 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16941 @item nnweb-max-hits
16942 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16943 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16946 @item nnweb-type-definition
16947 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16948 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16949 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16954 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16958 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16961 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16964 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16968 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16979 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16980 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16981 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16982 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16983 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16985 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16986 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16988 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16989 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16990 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16993 @kindex G R (Group)
16994 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16995 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16996 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16997 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16999 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
17000 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
17001 subscribe to groups.
17003 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
17004 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
17005 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
17006 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
17007 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
17010 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17011 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17012 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17015 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17016 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17019 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17020 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17024 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17025 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17026 @acronym{OPML} format.
17029 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17032 @item nnrss-directory
17033 @vindex nnrss-directory
17034 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17035 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17037 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17038 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17039 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17040 data files. The default is the value of
17041 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17042 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17044 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17045 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17046 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17047 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17048 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17049 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17050 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17051 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17053 @item nnrss-use-local
17054 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17055 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17056 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17057 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17058 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17059 download script using @command{wget}.
17062 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17063 the summary buffer.
17066 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17067 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17069 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17071 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17072 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17075 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17079 (require 'browse-url)
17081 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17083 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17086 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17087 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17090 (browse-url (cdr url))
17091 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17092 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17094 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17095 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17096 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17097 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17100 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17101 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17102 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17103 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17104 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17105 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17106 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17107 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17108 @code{nnrss} groups:
17111 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17112 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17114 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17115 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17116 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17118 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17121 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17125 @node Customizing W3
17126 @subsection Customizing W3
17132 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
17133 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
17134 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
17137 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
17138 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
17139 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
17142 (eval-after-load "w3"
17144 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
17145 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
17146 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
17147 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
17149 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
17152 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
17153 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
17157 @node Other Sources
17158 @section Other Sources
17160 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17161 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17165 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17166 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17167 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17168 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17169 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
17173 @node Directory Groups
17174 @subsection Directory Groups
17176 @cindex directory groups
17178 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17179 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17182 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17183 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17184 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17185 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17187 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17188 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17189 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17190 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17191 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17193 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17195 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17196 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17197 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17198 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17201 @node Anything Groups
17202 @subsection Anything Groups
17205 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17206 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17207 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17210 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17211 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17212 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17213 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17214 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17215 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17216 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17217 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17218 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17219 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17222 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17223 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17224 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17225 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17227 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17228 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17229 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17230 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17232 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17233 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17234 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17235 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17236 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17237 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17238 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17239 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17244 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17245 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17246 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17247 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17249 @item nneething-exclude-files
17250 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17251 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17252 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17254 @item nneething-include-files
17255 @vindex nneething-include-files
17256 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17257 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17259 @item nneething-map-file
17260 @vindex nneething-map-file
17261 Name of the map files.
17265 @node Document Groups
17266 @subsection Document Groups
17268 @cindex documentation group
17271 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17272 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17282 The standard Unix mbox file.
17284 @cindex MMDF mail box
17286 The MMDF mail box format.
17289 Several news articles appended into a file.
17291 @cindex rnews batch files
17293 The rnews batch transport format.
17296 Netscape mail boxes.
17299 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17301 @item standard-digest
17302 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17305 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17307 @item lanl-gov-announce
17308 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17310 @cindex git commit messages
17312 @code{git} commit messages.
17314 @cindex forwarded messages
17315 @item rfc822-forward
17316 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17319 The Outlook mail box.
17322 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17325 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17328 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17331 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17337 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17340 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17346 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17347 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17348 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17351 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17352 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17353 group. And that's it.
17355 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17356 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17357 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17358 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17359 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17360 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17361 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17362 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17363 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17364 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17366 Virtual server variables:
17369 @item nndoc-article-type
17370 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17371 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17372 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17373 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17374 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17375 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17377 @item nndoc-post-type
17378 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17379 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17380 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17385 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17389 @node Document Server Internals
17390 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17392 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17393 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17394 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17395 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17397 First, here's an example document type definition:
17401 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17402 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17405 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17406 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17407 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17408 types can be defined with very few settings:
17411 @item first-article
17412 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17413 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17416 @item article-begin
17417 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17418 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17419 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17420 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17422 @item article-begin-function
17423 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17424 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17427 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17428 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17429 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17431 @item head-begin-function
17432 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17433 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17436 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17437 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17440 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17441 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17442 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17444 @item body-begin-function
17445 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17446 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17449 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17450 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17451 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17453 @item body-end-function
17454 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17455 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17458 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17459 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17462 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17463 regexp will be totally ignored.
17467 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17468 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17469 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17470 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17471 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17474 @item prepare-body-function
17475 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17476 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17477 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17479 @item article-transform-function
17480 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17481 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17482 body of the article.
17484 @item generate-head-function
17485 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17486 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17487 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17488 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17490 @item generate-article-function
17491 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17492 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17493 parameter when requesting all articles.
17495 @item dissection-function
17496 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17497 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17498 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17499 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17500 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17501 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17505 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17510 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17511 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17512 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17513 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17514 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17515 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17516 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17517 (subtype digest guess))
17520 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17521 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17522 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17523 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17524 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17526 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17527 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17528 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17529 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17530 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17531 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17532 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17533 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17534 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17535 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17536 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17537 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17540 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17541 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17542 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17545 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17546 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17547 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17549 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17555 @item nngateway-address
17556 @vindex nngateway-address
17557 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17559 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17560 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17561 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17562 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17563 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17564 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17565 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17568 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17569 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17570 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17573 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17576 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17579 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17582 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17584 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17587 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17588 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17589 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17591 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17593 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17594 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17595 @code{nngateway-address}.
17603 (setq gnus-post-method
17605 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17606 (nngateway-header-transformation
17607 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17610 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17613 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17617 @node The Empty Backend
17618 @subsection The Empty Backend
17621 @code{nnnil} is a backend that can be used as a placeholder if you
17622 have to specify a backend somewhere, but don't really want to. The
17623 classical example is if you don't want to have a primary select
17624 methods, but want to only use secondary ones:
17627 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnnil ""))
17628 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
17634 @node Combined Groups
17635 @section Combined Groups
17637 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17641 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17645 @node Virtual Groups
17646 @subsection Virtual Groups
17648 @cindex virtual groups
17649 @cindex merging groups
17651 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17654 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17655 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17656 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17658 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17659 regexp to match component groups.
17661 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17662 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17663 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17664 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17665 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17666 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17667 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17668 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17670 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17671 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17674 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17677 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17678 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17680 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17681 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17682 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17683 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17686 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17689 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17690 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17691 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17693 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17694 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17695 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17696 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17697 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17699 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17700 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17701 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17703 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17704 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
17705 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
17706 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
17707 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
17708 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
17709 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
17710 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
17711 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
17712 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
17713 it---it'll have much the same effect.
17715 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17716 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17717 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17718 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17719 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17720 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17721 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17723 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17724 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17726 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17727 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17731 @node Email Based Diary
17732 @section Email Based Diary
17734 @cindex email based diary
17737 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
17738 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
17739 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
17740 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
17741 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
17742 namely, as event reminders.
17744 Here is a typical scenario:
17748 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
17749 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
17751 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
17753 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
17755 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
17756 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
17757 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
17759 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
17760 of the night you're gonna have.
17762 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
17763 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
17766 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
17767 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
17768 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
17769 explained in the sections below.
17772 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
17773 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
17774 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
17778 @node The NNDiary Back End
17779 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
17781 @cindex the nndiary back end
17783 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
17784 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
17785 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
17786 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
17787 directory per group.
17789 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
17790 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
17791 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
17792 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
17795 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
17796 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
17797 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
17800 @node Diary Messages
17801 @subsubsection Diary Messages
17802 @cindex nndiary messages
17803 @cindex nndiary mails
17805 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
17806 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
17807 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
17808 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
17809 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
17810 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
17811 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
17815 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
17816 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
17817 (separated by a comma).
17819 A field is either an integer, or a range.
17821 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
17823 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
17824 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
17825 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
17827 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
17828 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
17829 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
17831 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
17832 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
17833 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
17834 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
17835 list of available time zone values, see the variable
17836 @code{nndiary-headers}.
17839 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
17840 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
17841 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
17846 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
17849 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
17851 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
17854 @node Running NNDiary
17855 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
17856 @cindex running nndiary
17857 @cindex nndiary operation modes
17859 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
17860 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
17861 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
17862 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
17863 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
17864 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
17866 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
17867 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
17868 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
17869 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
17870 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
17871 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
17872 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
17875 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
17880 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
17881 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17884 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
17887 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
17888 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
17889 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
17890 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
17891 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
17893 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
17894 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
17903 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
17904 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
17906 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
17907 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17908 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
17909 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
17912 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
17913 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17914 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
17917 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
17918 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
17919 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
17921 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
17922 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
17923 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
17924 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
17925 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
17927 @node Customizing NNDiary
17928 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
17929 @cindex customizing nndiary
17930 @cindex nndiary customization
17932 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
17933 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
17934 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
17935 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
17937 @defvar nndiary-reminders
17938 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
17939 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
17940 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
17941 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
17945 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
17946 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
17951 @node The Gnus Diary Library
17952 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
17954 @cindex the gnus diary library
17956 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
17957 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
17958 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
17959 useful things for you.
17961 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17964 (require 'gnus-diary)
17967 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
17968 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
17969 (sorry if you used them before).
17973 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
17974 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
17975 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
17976 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
17979 @node Diary Summary Line Format
17980 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
17981 @cindex diary summary buffer line
17982 @cindex diary summary line format
17984 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
17985 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
17986 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
17987 see the event's date.
17989 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
17990 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
17991 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
17992 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximate remaining time until the
17993 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
17995 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
17996 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
17997 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18000 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18003 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18004 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18007 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18010 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18011 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18012 with the following user options:
18014 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18015 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18016 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18017 diary groups'parameters.
18020 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18021 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18022 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18025 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18026 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18027 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18028 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18029 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18032 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18033 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18034 @cindex diary articles sorting
18035 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18036 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18037 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18038 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18040 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18041 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18042 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18043 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18044 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18046 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18047 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18048 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18049 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18052 @node Diary Headers Generation
18053 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18054 @cindex diary headers generation
18055 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18057 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18058 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18059 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18060 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18063 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18064 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18065 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
18066 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
18067 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
18069 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18070 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18071 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18074 @node Diary Group Parameters
18075 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18076 @cindex diary group parameters
18078 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18079 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18080 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18081 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18082 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18083 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18084 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18085 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18087 @node Sending or Not Sending
18088 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18090 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18091 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18095 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18096 messages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18097 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18098 sending the diary message to them as well.
18100 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18101 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18102 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18103 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18106 @node Gnus Unplugged
18107 @section Gnus Unplugged
18112 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18114 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18115 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18116 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18117 read news. Believe it or not.
18119 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18120 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18121 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18122 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18123 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18125 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18126 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18127 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18128 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18129 reading news on a machine.
18131 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18132 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18133 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18135 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18138 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18139 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18140 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18141 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18142 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18143 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18144 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18145 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18146 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18147 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18148 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18149 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18150 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18151 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18156 @subsection Agent Basics
18158 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18160 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18161 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18162 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18163 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18165 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18166 connected to the net continuously.
18168 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18169 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18171 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18172 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18173 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18174 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18175 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18177 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18178 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18179 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18180 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18181 they're kinda like plugged always).
18183 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18184 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18185 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18188 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18189 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18190 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18191 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18192 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18194 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18199 @findex gnus-unplugged
18200 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18201 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18202 already fetched while in this mode.
18205 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18206 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18207 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18208 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18209 Source Specifiers}).
18212 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18213 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18214 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18215 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18216 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18219 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18220 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18221 then you read the news offline.
18224 And then you go to step 2.
18227 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18233 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18234 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18235 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18236 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18237 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18238 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18239 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18240 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18243 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18244 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18245 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18246 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18248 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18249 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18250 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18251 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18252 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18253 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18257 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18261 @node Agent Categories
18262 @subsection Agent Categories
18264 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18265 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18266 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18267 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18268 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18269 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18270 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18272 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18273 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18274 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18275 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18276 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18278 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18279 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18280 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18281 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18282 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18285 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18286 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18287 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18288 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18289 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18290 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18294 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18295 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18296 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18300 @node Category Syntax
18301 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18303 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18304 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18305 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18308 @cindex Agent Parameters
18311 The list of groups that are in this category.
18313 @item agent-predicate
18314 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18315 are eligible for downloading; and
18318 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18319 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18320 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18322 @item agent-enable-expiration
18323 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18324 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18325 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18326 only groups that should not be expired.
18328 @item agent-days-until-old
18329 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18330 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18332 @item agent-low-score
18333 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18335 @item agent-high-score
18336 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18338 @item agent-short-article
18339 an integer that overrides the value of
18340 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18342 @item agent-long-article
18343 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18345 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18346 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18347 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18348 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18349 undownloaded faces.
18352 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18355 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18356 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18357 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18360 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18361 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18362 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18363 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18365 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18366 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18367 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18369 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18370 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18371 operators sprinkled in between.
18373 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18375 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18376 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18382 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18383 short (for some value of ``short'').
18385 Here's a more complex predicate:
18394 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18395 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18398 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18399 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18400 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18402 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18403 you want to do, you can write your own.
18405 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18406 bound to the value determined by calling
18407 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18408 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18409 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18410 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18411 predicate to individual groups.
18415 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18416 lines; default 100.
18419 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18420 lines; default 200.
18423 True if the article has a download score less than
18424 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18427 True if the article has a download score greater than
18428 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18431 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18432 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18433 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18442 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18443 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18444 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18447 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18448 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18449 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18450 something along the lines of the following:
18453 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18454 "Say whether an article is old."
18455 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18456 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18459 with the predicate then defined as:
18462 (not my-article-old-p)
18465 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18466 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18470 (require 'gnus-agent)
18471 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18472 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18473 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18476 and simply specify your predicate as:
18482 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18483 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18484 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18485 just don't give a damn.
18487 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18488 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18489 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18490 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18491 parameters like so:
18494 (agent-predicate . short)
18497 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18498 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18499 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18501 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18504 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18507 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18508 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18509 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18512 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18513 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18514 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18515 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18516 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18517 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18519 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18520 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18521 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18522 if it's to be specific to that group.
18524 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18531 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18532 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18538 Category specification
18542 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18548 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18551 (agent-score ("from"
18552 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18557 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18563 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18564 keywords stated above.
18570 Category specification
18573 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18579 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18583 Group Parameter specification
18586 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18589 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18594 Use @code{normal} score files
18596 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18597 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18598 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18599 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18601 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18602 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18603 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18604 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18608 Category Specification
18615 Group Parameter specification
18618 (agent-score . file)
18623 @node Category Buffer
18624 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18626 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18627 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18628 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18630 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18634 @kindex q (Category)
18635 @findex gnus-category-exit
18636 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18639 @kindex e (Category)
18640 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18641 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18642 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18645 @kindex k (Category)
18646 @findex gnus-category-kill
18647 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18650 @kindex c (Category)
18651 @findex gnus-category-copy
18652 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18655 @kindex a (Category)
18656 @findex gnus-category-add
18657 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18660 @kindex p (Category)
18661 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18662 Edit the predicate of the current category
18663 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18666 @kindex g (Category)
18667 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18668 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18669 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18672 @kindex s (Category)
18673 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18674 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18675 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18678 @kindex l (Category)
18679 @findex gnus-category-list
18680 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18684 @node Category Variables
18685 @subsubsection Category Variables
18688 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18689 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18690 Hook run in category buffers.
18692 @item gnus-category-line-format
18693 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18694 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18695 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18699 The name of the category.
18702 The number of groups in the category.
18705 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18706 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18707 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18709 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18710 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18711 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18713 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18714 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18715 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18717 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18718 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18719 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18722 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18723 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18724 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18727 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18728 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18729 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18730 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18731 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18732 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18733 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18734 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18738 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18739 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18740 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18741 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18742 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18743 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18744 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18749 @node Agent Commands
18750 @subsection Agent Commands
18751 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18752 @kindex J j (Agent)
18754 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18755 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18756 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18760 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18761 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18762 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18768 @node Group Agent Commands
18769 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18773 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18774 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18775 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18776 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18779 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18780 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18781 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18784 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18785 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18786 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18787 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18790 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18791 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18792 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18793 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18796 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18797 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18798 Add the current group to an Agent category
18799 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18800 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18803 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18804 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18805 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18806 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18807 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18810 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18811 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18812 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18818 @node Summary Agent Commands
18819 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18823 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18824 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18825 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18828 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18829 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18830 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18831 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18835 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18836 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18837 Toggle whether to download the article
18838 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18842 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18843 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18844 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18847 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18848 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18849 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18850 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18853 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18854 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
18855 Download all processable articles in this group.
18856 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
18859 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18860 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18861 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18862 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18867 @node Server Agent Commands
18868 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18872 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18873 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18874 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18875 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18878 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18879 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18880 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18881 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18886 @node Agent Visuals
18887 @subsection Agent Visuals
18889 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18890 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18891 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18892 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18893 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18894 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18895 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18896 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18897 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18898 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18900 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18901 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18902 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18903 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18904 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
18905 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18906 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18907 articles will be available when unplugged.
18909 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18910 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18911 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18912 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18913 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18914 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18915 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18916 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18918 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18919 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18920 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18921 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18922 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18923 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18924 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18925 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18926 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18928 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18929 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18930 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18931 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18932 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18933 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18934 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18935 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18936 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18937 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18939 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18940 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18941 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
18942 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
18943 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
18944 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18946 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
18947 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
18948 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
18949 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
18950 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
18951 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
18952 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
18953 expiring'' articles.
18955 @node Agent as Cache
18956 @subsection Agent as Cache
18958 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18959 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18960 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18961 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18962 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18963 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18964 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18965 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18966 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18968 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18969 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18970 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18971 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18972 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18975 @subsection Agent Expiry
18977 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18978 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18979 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18980 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18981 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18982 @cindex agent expiry
18983 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18984 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
18986 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18987 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18988 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18989 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18990 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18991 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18992 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18993 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18995 Note that other functions might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you
18996 to keep the agent synchronized with the group.
18998 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18999 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19001 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19002 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19003 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19004 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19005 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19006 be kept indefinitely.
19008 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19009 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19010 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19011 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19013 @node Agent Regeneration
19014 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19016 @cindex agent regeneration
19017 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19018 @cindex regeneration
19020 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19021 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19022 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19023 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19024 internal inconsistencies.
19026 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19027 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19028 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19029 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19030 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19031 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19033 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19034 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19035 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19036 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19037 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19038 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19040 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19041 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19042 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19043 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19044 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19045 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19048 @node Agent and flags
19049 @subsection Agent and flags
19051 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19052 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19053 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19054 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19055 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19056 to the flags in its own files.
19058 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19059 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19060 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19062 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19063 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19064 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19065 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19066 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19067 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19069 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19070 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19071 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19072 in the group buffer.
19074 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19075 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19076 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19077 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19078 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19079 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19080 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19081 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19083 @node Agent and IMAP
19084 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19086 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19087 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19088 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19089 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19091 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19092 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19097 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19100 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19104 @node Outgoing Messages
19105 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19107 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19108 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19109 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19111 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19112 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19113 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19115 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19116 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19117 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19118 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19121 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19122 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19123 ask you to confirm your action (see
19124 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19126 @node Agent Variables
19127 @subsection Agent Variables
19132 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19133 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19134 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19135 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19137 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19138 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19141 @item gnus-agent-directory
19142 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19143 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19144 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19146 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19147 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19148 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19149 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19150 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19153 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19154 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19155 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19157 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19158 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19159 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19161 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19162 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19163 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19165 @item gnus-agent-cache
19166 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19167 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19168 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19169 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19171 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19172 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19173 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19174 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19175 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19176 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19177 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19180 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19181 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19182 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19183 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19184 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19185 read. The default is @code{t}.
19187 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19188 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19189 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19190 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19191 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19192 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19193 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19195 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19196 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19197 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19198 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19199 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19200 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19201 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19202 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19203 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19204 over and over again.
19206 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19207 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19208 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19209 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19210 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19211 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19212 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19213 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19214 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19215 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19216 However, all articles parsed prior to losing the connection will be
19217 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19220 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19221 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19222 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19223 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19224 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19225 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19226 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19227 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19228 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19230 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19231 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19232 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19233 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19234 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19235 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19237 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19238 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19239 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19240 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19241 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19243 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19244 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19245 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19246 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19247 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19248 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19250 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19251 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19252 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19253 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19254 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19256 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19257 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19258 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19259 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19260 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19261 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19262 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19263 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19264 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19265 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19266 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19271 @node Example Setup
19272 @subsection Example Setup
19274 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19275 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19276 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19279 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19280 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19281 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19283 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19284 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19285 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19287 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19288 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19290 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19291 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19292 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19295 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19296 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19299 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19300 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19301 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19302 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19303 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19306 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19307 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19308 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19309 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19310 back all the killed groups.)
19312 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19313 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19314 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19317 @node Batching Agents
19318 @subsection Batching Agents
19319 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19321 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19322 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19323 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19325 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19326 following incantation:
19330 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19334 @node Agent Caveats
19335 @subsection Agent Caveats
19337 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19338 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19342 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19344 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19345 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19346 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19348 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19349 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19351 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19355 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19356 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19357 locally stored articles.
19364 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19365 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19366 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19369 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19370 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19371 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19372 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19373 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19375 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19376 before generating the summary buffer.
19378 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19379 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19380 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19382 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19383 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19384 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19385 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19388 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19389 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19390 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19391 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19392 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19393 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19394 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19395 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19396 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19397 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19398 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19399 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19400 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19401 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19402 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19403 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19407 @node Summary Score Commands
19408 @section Summary Score Commands
19409 @cindex score commands
19411 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19412 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19413 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19414 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19415 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19417 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19418 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19419 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19420 score file the current one.
19422 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19427 @kindex V s (Summary)
19428 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19429 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19432 @kindex V S (Summary)
19433 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19434 Display the score of the current article
19435 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19438 @kindex V t (Summary)
19439 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19440 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19441 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19442 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19443 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19444 score file and edit it.
19447 @kindex V w (Summary)
19448 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19449 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19452 @kindex V R (Summary)
19453 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19454 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19455 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19456 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19457 effect you're having.
19460 @kindex V c (Summary)
19461 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19462 Make a different score file the current
19463 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19466 @kindex V e (Summary)
19467 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19468 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19469 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19473 @kindex V f (Summary)
19474 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19475 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19476 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19479 @kindex V F (Summary)
19480 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19481 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19482 after editing score files.
19485 @kindex V C (Summary)
19486 @findex gnus-score-customize
19487 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19488 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19492 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19497 @kindex V m (Summary)
19498 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19499 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19500 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19503 @kindex V x (Summary)
19504 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19505 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19506 expunge all articles below this score
19507 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19510 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19511 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19514 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19515 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19519 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19520 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19522 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19523 keys are available:
19527 Score on the author name.
19530 Score on the subject line.
19533 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19536 Score on the @code{References} line.
19542 Score on the number of lines.
19545 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19548 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19549 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19552 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19553 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19554 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19563 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19569 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19570 what headers you are scoring on.
19582 Substring matching.
19585 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19614 Greater than number.
19619 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19620 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19621 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19626 Temporary score entry.
19629 Permanent score entry.
19632 Immediately scoring.
19636 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19637 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19638 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19642 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19643 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19644 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19645 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19647 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19648 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19649 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19650 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19651 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19653 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19654 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19655 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19656 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19657 current score file.
19659 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19660 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19661 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19664 @node Group Score Commands
19665 @section Group Score Commands
19666 @cindex group score commands
19668 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19673 @kindex W e (Group)
19674 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19675 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19676 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19679 @kindex W f (Group)
19680 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19681 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19682 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19683 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19687 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19689 @findex gnus-batch-score
19690 @cindex batch scoring
19692 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19696 @node Score Variables
19697 @section Score Variables
19698 @cindex score variables
19702 @item gnus-use-scoring
19703 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19704 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19705 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19707 @item gnus-kill-killed
19708 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19709 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19710 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19711 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19712 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19713 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19714 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19716 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19717 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19718 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19719 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19720 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19722 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19723 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19724 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19725 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19727 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19728 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19729 @cindex score cache
19730 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19731 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
19732 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19733 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19734 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19735 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19736 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19739 @item gnus-save-score
19740 @vindex gnus-save-score
19741 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19742 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19743 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19745 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19746 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19747 across group visits.
19749 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19750 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19751 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19752 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19753 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19754 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19755 manually entered data.
19757 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19758 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19759 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19761 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19762 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19763 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19764 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19765 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19766 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19768 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19769 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19770 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19771 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19773 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19774 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19775 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19776 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19778 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19779 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19780 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19781 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19783 Predefined functions available are:
19786 @item gnus-score-find-single
19787 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19788 Only apply the group's own score file.
19790 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19791 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19792 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19793 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19794 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19795 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19796 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19797 then a regexp match is done.
19799 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19800 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19802 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19803 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19804 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19805 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19807 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19808 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19809 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19810 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19811 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19815 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19816 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19817 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19818 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19819 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19820 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19821 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19824 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19825 overall score file, you could use the value
19827 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19828 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19831 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19832 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19833 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19834 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19835 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19837 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19838 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19839 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19840 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19841 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19842 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19843 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19844 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19846 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19847 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19848 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19850 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19851 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19852 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19853 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19854 threading---according to the current value of
19855 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19856 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19857 simplified in this manner.
19862 @node Score File Format
19863 @section Score File Format
19864 @cindex score file format
19866 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19867 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19868 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19870 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19874 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19876 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19878 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19880 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19885 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19889 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19890 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19891 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19892 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19896 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19897 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19899 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19900 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19901 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19903 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19908 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19909 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19910 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19911 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19912 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19913 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19914 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19915 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19916 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19917 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19918 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19919 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19920 to articles that matches these score entries.
19922 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19923 score entry has one to four elements.
19927 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19928 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19932 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19933 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19934 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19935 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19936 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19937 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19940 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19941 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19942 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19943 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19944 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19947 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19948 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19949 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19950 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19953 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19954 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19955 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19956 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19957 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19958 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19959 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19960 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19961 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19962 instead, if you feel like.
19965 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19966 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19967 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19968 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19969 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19970 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19974 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19975 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19979 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19980 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19982 These predicates are true if
19985 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19988 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19989 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19996 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19997 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19998 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19999 it's not. I think.)
20001 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20002 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20003 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20004 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20007 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20008 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20009 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20010 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20011 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20012 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20013 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20017 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20018 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20019 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20020 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20021 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20022 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20023 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20024 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20027 @item Head, Body, All
20028 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20032 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20033 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20034 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20035 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20036 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20037 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20038 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20042 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20043 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20044 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20045 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20046 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20047 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20048 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20049 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20050 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20051 nondeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20052 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20056 @cindex score file atoms
20058 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20059 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20062 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20063 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20065 @item mark-and-expunge
20066 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20067 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20070 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20071 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20072 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20073 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20074 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20077 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20078 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20081 @item exclude-files
20082 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20083 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20087 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}ed. This element will be
20088 ignored when handling global score files.
20091 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20092 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20093 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20094 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20097 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20098 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20099 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20100 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20102 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20106 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20109 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20110 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20111 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{c y}) the
20112 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20113 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20115 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20116 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20117 scoring rules exist.
20120 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20121 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20122 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20123 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20124 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20125 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20126 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20127 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20128 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20129 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20130 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20134 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20135 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20136 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20137 file for a number of groups.
20140 @cindex local variables
20141 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20142 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20143 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20144 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20145 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20150 @node Score File Editing
20151 @section Score File Editing
20153 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20154 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20155 with a mode for that.
20157 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20158 additional commands:
20163 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20164 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
20165 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20166 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
20169 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20170 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20171 Insert the current date in numerical format
20172 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20173 you were wondering.
20176 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20177 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20178 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20179 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20180 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20185 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20187 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20188 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20190 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20191 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20194 @node Adaptive Scoring
20195 @section Adaptive Scoring
20196 @cindex adaptive scoring
20198 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20199 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20200 stupidity, to be precise.
20202 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20203 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20204 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20205 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20206 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20207 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20208 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20209 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20210 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20212 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20213 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20214 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20215 might look something like this:
20218 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20219 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20220 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20221 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20222 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20223 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20224 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20225 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20226 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20227 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20228 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20229 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20232 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20233 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20234 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20235 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20236 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20237 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20240 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20241 will be applied to each article.
20243 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20244 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20245 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20246 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20248 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20249 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20250 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20251 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20253 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20254 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20255 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20256 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20258 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20259 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20260 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20261 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20262 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20263 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20265 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20266 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20267 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20269 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20270 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20271 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20273 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20274 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20275 let you use different rules in different groups.
20277 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20278 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20279 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20282 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20283 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20284 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20285 default) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20287 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20288 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20289 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20290 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20291 the length of the match is less than
20292 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20293 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20296 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20297 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20298 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20299 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20300 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20303 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20304 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20305 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20306 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20307 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20310 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20311 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20312 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20313 score with 30 points.
20315 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20316 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20317 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20318 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20319 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20321 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20322 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20323 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20324 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20325 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20327 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20328 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20329 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20330 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20332 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20333 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20334 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20335 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20337 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20338 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20339 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20340 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20341 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20343 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20344 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20345 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20347 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20348 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20349 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20350 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20353 @node Home Score File
20354 @section Home Score File
20356 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20357 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20358 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20359 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20361 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20362 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20363 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20365 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20366 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20371 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20375 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20376 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20380 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20384 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20385 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20388 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20389 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20390 name of the group as the parameter.
20393 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20396 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20401 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20404 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20405 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20408 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20409 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20411 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20413 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20414 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20417 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20418 Other functions include
20421 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20422 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20423 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20424 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20428 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20429 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20430 their own home score files:
20433 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20434 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20435 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20436 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20437 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20440 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20441 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20442 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20443 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20444 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20446 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20447 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20448 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20449 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20450 precedence over this variable.
20453 @node Followups To Yourself
20454 @section Followups To Yourself
20456 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20457 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20458 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20459 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20460 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20461 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20465 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20466 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20467 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20470 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20471 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20472 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20476 @vindex message-sent-hook
20477 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20478 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20480 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20484 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20485 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20489 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20490 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20493 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20494 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20499 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20503 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20504 is system-dependent.
20507 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20508 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20509 @cindex scoring on other headers
20511 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
20512 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
20513 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
20514 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
20515 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20517 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
20518 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
20519 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
20520 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
20521 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
20522 inhibited for all groups.
20524 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
20525 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20526 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20527 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20528 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20530 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20533 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20534 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20537 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20538 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20539 time if you have much mail.
20541 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20542 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20548 @section Scoring Tips
20549 @cindex scoring tips
20555 @cindex scoring crossposts
20556 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20557 the @code{Xref} header.
20559 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20562 @item Multiple crossposts
20563 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20564 more than, say, 3 groups:
20567 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20571 @item Matching on the body
20572 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20573 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20574 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20575 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20576 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20577 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20578 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20581 @item Marking as read
20582 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20583 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20584 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20588 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20590 @item Negated character classes
20591 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20592 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20593 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20597 @node Reverse Scoring
20598 @section Reverse Scoring
20599 @cindex reverse scoring
20601 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20602 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20603 like this in your score file:
20607 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20612 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20613 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20616 @node Global Score Files
20617 @section Global Score Files
20618 @cindex global score files
20620 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20621 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20622 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20624 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20625 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20626 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20628 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20629 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20630 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20631 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20632 files are applicable to which group.
20634 To use the score file
20635 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20636 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20640 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20641 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20642 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20645 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20647 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20648 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20649 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20650 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20652 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20653 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20655 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20656 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20657 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20658 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20659 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20660 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20662 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20668 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20670 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20672 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20674 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20675 lowered out of existence.
20677 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20678 articles completely.
20681 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20682 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20683 old articles for a long time.
20686 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20687 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20688 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20689 holding our breath yet?
20693 @section Kill Files
20696 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20697 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20698 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20700 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20701 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20702 files into score files.
20704 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20705 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20706 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20707 that isn't a very good idea.
20709 Normal kill files look like this:
20712 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20713 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20717 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20718 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20720 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20721 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20724 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20729 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20730 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20731 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20734 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20735 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20736 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20739 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20744 @kindex M-k (Group)
20745 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20746 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20749 @kindex M-K (Group)
20750 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20751 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20754 Kill file variables:
20757 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20758 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20759 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20760 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20761 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20762 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20763 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20765 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20766 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20767 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20768 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20771 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20772 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20773 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20774 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20775 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20776 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20777 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20778 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20779 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20781 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20782 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20783 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20788 @node Converting Kill Files
20789 @section Converting Kill Files
20791 @cindex converting kill files
20793 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20794 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20795 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20798 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
20799 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
20801 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20803 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20804 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20805 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20809 @node Advanced Scoring
20810 @section Advanced Scoring
20812 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20813 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20814 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20815 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20816 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20818 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20822 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20823 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20824 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20828 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20829 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20831 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20832 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20833 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20834 non-@code{nil} value.
20836 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20837 operator, and various match operators.
20844 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20845 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20846 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20851 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20852 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20853 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20858 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20859 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20863 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20864 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20865 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20866 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20867 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20868 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20869 the ancestry you want to go.
20871 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20872 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20873 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20874 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20875 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20878 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20879 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20881 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20882 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20885 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20886 when he's talking about Gnus:
20891 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20892 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20899 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20903 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20910 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20911 really don't want to read what he's written:
20915 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20916 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
20920 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20921 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20922 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20929 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20930 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20931 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20932 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20936 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
20937 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
20938 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
20939 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
20942 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20944 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20948 The possibilities are endless.
20950 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20951 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20953 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20954 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20955 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20956 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20957 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20958 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20959 @samp{subject}) first.
20961 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20962 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20973 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20974 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20980 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20987 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20988 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20993 @section Score Decays
20994 @cindex score decays
20997 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20998 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20999 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21000 use them in any sensible way.
21002 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21003 @findex gnus-decay-score
21004 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21005 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21006 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21007 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21008 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21009 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21010 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21011 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21012 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21013 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21017 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21018 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21019 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21021 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21023 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21025 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21026 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21027 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21028 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21029 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21031 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21035 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21036 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21037 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21038 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21042 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21045 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21048 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21052 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21053 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21054 the new score, which should be an integer.
21056 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21057 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21063 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
21064 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
21067 This chapter describes tools for searching groups and servers for
21068 articles matching a query and then retrieving those articles. Gnus
21069 provides a simpler mechanism for searching through articles in a summary buffer
21070 to find those matching a pattern. @xref{Searching for Articles}.
21073 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
21074 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
21081 This section describes how to use @code{nnir} to search for articles
21085 * What is nnir?:: What does @code{nnir} do?
21086 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
21087 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up @code{nnir}.
21090 @node What is nnir?
21091 @subsection What is nnir?
21093 @code{nnir} is a Gnus interface to a number of tools for searching
21094 through mail and news repositories. Different backends (like
21095 @code{nnimap} and @code{nntp}) work with different tools (called
21096 @dfn{engines} in @code{nnir} lingo), but all use the same basic search
21099 The @code{nnimap} and @code{gmane} search engines should work with no
21100 configuration. Other engines require a local index that needs to be
21101 created and maintained outside of Gnus.
21105 @subsection Basic Usage
21107 In the group buffer typing @kbd{G G} will search the group on the
21108 current line by calling @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. This prompts
21109 for a query string, creates an ephemeral @code{nnir} group containing
21110 the articles that match this query, and takes you to a summary buffer
21111 showing these articles. Articles may then be read, moved and deleted
21112 using the usual commands.
21114 The @code{nnir} group made in this way is an @code{ephemeral} group, and
21115 some changes are not permanent: aside from reading, moving, and
21116 deleting, you can't act on the original article. But there is an
21117 alternative: you can @emph{warp} to the original group for the article
21118 on the current line with @kbd{A W}, aka
21119 @code{gnus-warp-to-article}. Even better, the function
21120 @code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}, bound by default in summary buffers to
21121 @kbd{A T}, will first warp to the original group before it works its
21122 magic and includes all the articles in the thread. From here you can
21123 read, move and delete articles, but also copy them, alter article marks,
21126 You say you want to search more than just the group on the current line?
21127 No problem: just process-mark the groups you want to search. You want
21128 even more? Calling for an nnir search with the cursor on a topic heading
21129 will search all the groups under that heading.
21131 Still not enough? OK, in the server buffer
21132 @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group} (now bound to @kbd{G}) will search all
21133 groups from the server on the current line. Too much? Want to ignore
21134 certain groups when searching, like spam groups? Just customize
21135 @code{nnir-ignored-newsgroups}.
21137 One more thing: individual search engines may have special search
21138 features. You can access these special features by giving a prefix-arg
21139 to @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. If you are searching multiple
21140 groups with different search engines you will be prompted for the
21141 special search features for each engine separately.
21144 @node Setting up nnir
21145 @subsection Setting up nnir
21147 To set up nnir you may need to do some prep work. Firstly, you may need
21148 to configure the search engines you plan to use. Some of them, like
21149 @code{imap} and @code{gmane}, need no special configuration. Others,
21150 like @code{namazu} and @code{swish}, require configuration as described
21151 below. Secondly, you need to associate a search engine with a server or
21154 If you just want to use the @code{imap} engine to search @code{nnimap}
21155 servers, and the @code{gmane} engine to search @code{gmane} then you
21156 don't have to do anything. But you might want to read the details of the
21157 query language anyway.
21160 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
21161 * The imap Engine:: Imap configuration and usage.
21162 * The gmane Engine:: Gmane configuration and usage.
21163 * The swish++ Engine:: Swish++ configuration and usage.
21164 * The swish-e Engine:: Swish-e configuration and usage.
21165 * The namazu Engine:: Namazu configuration and usage.
21166 * The hyrex Engine:: Hyrex configuration and usage.
21167 * Customizations:: User customizable settings.
21170 @node Associating Engines
21171 @subsubsection Associating Engines
21174 When searching a group, @code{nnir} needs to know which search engine to
21175 use. You can configure a given server to use a particular engine by
21176 setting the server variable @code{nnir-search-engine} to the engine
21177 name. For example to use the @code{namazu} engine to search the server
21178 named @code{home} you can use
21181 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
21183 (nnimap-address "localhost")
21184 (nnir-search-engine namazu))))
21187 Alternatively you might want to use a particular engine for all servers
21188 with a given backend. For example, you might want to use the @code{imap}
21189 engine for all servers using the @code{nnimap} backend. In this case you
21190 can customize the variable @code{nnir-method-default-engines}. This is
21191 an alist of pairs of the form @code{(backend . engine)}. By default this
21192 variable is set to use the @code{imap} engine for all servers using the
21193 @code{nnimap} backend, and the @code{gmane} backend for @code{nntp}
21194 servers. (Don't worry, the @code{gmane} search engine won't actually try
21195 to search non-gmane @code{nntp} servers.) But if you wanted to use
21196 @code{namazu} for all your servers with an @code{nnimap} backend you
21197 could change this to
21200 '((nnimap . namazu)
21204 @node The imap Engine
21205 @subsubsection The imap Engine
21207 The @code{imap} engine requires no configuration.
21209 Queries using the @code{imap} engine follow a simple query language.
21210 The search is always case-insensitive and supports the following
21211 features (inspired by the Google search input language):
21215 @item Boolean query operators
21216 AND, OR, and NOT are supported, and parentheses can be used to control
21217 operator precedence, e.g. (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux. Note that
21218 operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21219 recognized. Also preceding a term with a - sign is equivalent to NOT
21222 @item Automatic AND queries
21223 If you specify multiple words then they will be treated as an AND
21224 expression intended to match all components.
21226 @item Phrase searches
21227 If you wrap your query in double-quotes then it will be treated as a
21232 By default the whole message will be searched. The query can be limited
21233 to a specific part of a message by using a prefix-arg. After inputting
21234 the query this will prompt (with completion) for a message part.
21235 Choices include ``Whole message'', ``Subject'', ``From'', and
21236 ``To''. Any unrecognized input is interpreted as a header name. For
21237 example, typing @kbd{Message-ID} in response to this prompt will limit
21238 the query to the Message-ID header.
21240 Finally selecting ``Imap'' will interpret the query as a raw
21241 @acronym{IMAP} search query. The format of such queries can be found in
21244 If you don't like the default of searching whole messages you can
21245 customize @code{nnir-imap-default-search-key}. For example to use
21246 @acronym{IMAP} queries by default
21249 (setq nnir-imap-default-search-key "Imap")
21252 @node The gmane Engine
21253 @subsubsection The gmane Engine
21255 The @code{gmane} engine requires no configuration.
21257 Gmane queries follow a simple query language:
21260 @item Boolean query operators
21261 AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT), and XOR are supported, and brackets can be
21262 used to control operator precedence, e.g. (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux.
21263 Note that operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21266 @item Required and excluded terms
21267 + and - can be used to require or exclude terms, e.g. football -american
21269 @item Unicode handling
21270 The search engine converts all text to utf-8, so searching should work
21274 Common English words (like 'the' and 'a') are ignored by default. You
21275 can override this by prefixing such words with a + (e.g. +the) or
21276 enclosing the word in quotes (e.g. "the").
21280 The query can be limited to articles by a specific author using a
21281 prefix-arg. After inputting the query this will prompt for an author
21282 name (or part of a name) to match.
21284 @node The swish++ Engine
21285 @subsubsection The swish++ Engine
21287 FIXME: Say something more here.
21289 Documentation for swish++ may be found at the swish++ sourceforge page:
21290 @uref{http://swishplusplus.sourceforge.net}
21294 @item nnir-swish++-program
21295 The name of the swish++ executable. Defaults to @code{search}
21297 @item nnir-swish++-additional-switches
21298 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21299 swish++. @code{nil} by default.
21301 @item nnir-swish++-remove-prefix
21302 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish++ in order
21303 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21307 @node The swish-e Engine
21308 @subsubsection The swish-e Engine
21310 FIXME: Say something more here.
21312 Documentation for swish-e may be found at the swish-e homepage
21313 @uref{http://swish-e.org}
21317 @item nnir-swish-e-program
21318 The name of the swish-e search program. Defaults to @code{swish-e}.
21320 @item nnir-swish-e-additional-switches
21321 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21322 swish-e. @code{nil} by default.
21324 @item nnir-swish-e-remove-prefix
21325 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish-e in order
21326 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21330 @node The namazu Engine
21331 @subsubsection The namazu Engine
21333 Using the namazu engine requires creating and maintaining index files.
21334 One directory should contain all the index files, and nnir must be told
21335 where to find them by setting the @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory}
21338 To work correctly the @code{nnir-namazu-remove-prefix} variable must
21339 also be correct. This is the prefix to remove from each file name
21340 returned by Namazu in order to get a proper group name (albeit with `/'
21343 For example, suppose that Namazu returns file names such as
21344 @samp{/home/john/Mail/mail/misc/42}. For this example, use the
21345 following setting: @code{(setq nnir-namazu-remove-prefix
21346 "/home/john/Mail/")} Note the trailing slash. Removing this prefix from
21347 the directory gives @samp{mail/misc/42}. @code{nnir} knows to remove
21348 the @samp{/42} and to replace @samp{/} with @samp{.} to arrive at the
21349 correct group name @samp{mail.misc}.
21351 Extra switches may be passed to the namazu search command by setting the
21352 variable @code{nnir-namazu-additional-switches}. It is particularly
21353 important not to pass any any switches to namazu that will change the
21354 output format. Good switches to use include `--sort', `--ascending',
21355 `--early' and `--late'. Refer to the Namazu documentation for further
21356 information on valid switches.
21358 Mail must first be indexed with the `mknmz' program. Read the documentation
21359 for namazu to create a configuration file. Here is an example:
21363 package conf; # Don't remove this line!
21365 # Paths which will not be indexed. Don't use `^' or `$' anchors.
21366 $EXCLUDE_PATH = "spam|sent";
21368 # Header fields which should be searchable. case-insensitive
21369 $REMAIN_HEADER = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21371 # Searchable fields. case-insensitive
21372 $SEARCH_FIELD = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21374 # The max length of a word.
21375 $WORD_LENG_MAX = 128;
21377 # The max length of a field.
21378 $MAX_FIELD_LENGTH = 256;
21382 For this example, mail is stored in the directories @samp{~/Mail/mail/},
21383 @samp{~/Mail/lists/} and @samp{~/Mail/archive/}, so to index them go to
21384 the index directory set in @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory} and issue
21385 the following command:
21388 mknmz --mailnews ~/Mail/archive/ ~/Mail/mail/ ~/Mail/lists/
21391 For maximum searching efficiency you might want to have a cron job run
21392 this command periodically, say every four hours.
21394 @node The hyrex Engine
21395 @subsubsection The hyrex Engine
21396 This engine is obsolete.
21398 @node Customizations
21399 @subsubsection Customizations
21403 @item nnir-method-default-engines
21404 Alist of server backend - search engine pairs. The default associations
21411 @item nnir-ignored-newsgroups
21412 A regexp to match newsgroups in the active file that should be skipped
21413 when searching all groups on a server.
21415 @item nnir-summary-line-format
21416 The format specification to be used for lines in an nnir summary buffer.
21417 All the items from `gnus-summary-line-format' are available, along with
21418 three items unique to nnir summary buffers:
21421 %Z Search retrieval score value (integer)
21422 %G Article original full group name (string)
21423 %g Article original short group name (string)
21426 If nil (the default) this will use @code{gnus-summary-line-format}.
21428 @item nnir-retrieve-headers-override-function
21429 If non-nil, a function that retrieves article headers rather than using
21430 the gnus built-in function. This function takes an article list and
21431 group as arguments and populates the `nntp-server-buffer' with the
21432 retrieved headers. It should then return either 'nov or 'headers
21433 indicating the retrieved header format. Failure to retrieve headers
21434 should return @code{nil}
21436 If this variable is nil, or if the provided function returns nil for a
21437 search result, @code{gnus-retrieve-headers} will be called instead."
21448 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
21449 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
21450 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
21451 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
21454 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
21455 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
21456 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
21457 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
21458 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
21459 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
21460 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
21461 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
21462 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
21465 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
21466 @c E.g. adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
21467 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
21470 @subsection About mairix
21472 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
21473 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
21474 GPL. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
21475 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
21477 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
21479 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
21480 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
21481 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
21482 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
21483 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
21484 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
21485 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
21486 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
21489 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
21490 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
21491 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
21492 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
21493 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
21494 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
21495 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
21496 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
21499 @node nnmairix requirements
21500 @subsection nnmairix requirements
21502 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
21503 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
21504 server (e.g. an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
21505 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g. via ssh.
21507 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
21508 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
21509 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
21510 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
21512 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
21513 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
21514 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
21515 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
21516 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
21517 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
21519 @node What nnmairix does
21520 @subsection What nnmairix does
21522 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
21523 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
21524 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
21525 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g. to quickly
21526 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
21527 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
21528 mails are in different folders.
21530 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
21531 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
21532 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
21533 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID. If you check for
21534 new mail in these folders (e.g. by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
21535 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
21537 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
21538 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
21539 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
21540 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
21541 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
21542 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
21543 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
21544 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g. if you
21545 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
21546 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
21547 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
21549 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
21550 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
21551 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
21552 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
21553 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
21554 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
21555 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
21556 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
21557 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
21558 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
21559 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create e.g. a new
21560 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
21561 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
21562 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
21563 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
21564 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
21566 @node Setting up mairix
21567 @subsection Setting up mairix
21569 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
21571 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
21572 (at least) the following entries:
21575 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
21579 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
21580 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
21581 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
21582 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
21585 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
21586 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
21587 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
21590 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
21591 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
21592 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
21593 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
21594 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
21600 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
21601 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
21602 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
21603 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
21606 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
21607 database= ... location of database file ...
21610 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
21611 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
21612 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
21614 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
21618 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
21619 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
21620 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
21623 database=~/.mairixdatabase
21626 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
21627 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
21628 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
21629 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
21630 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
21631 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
21632 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
21633 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
21634 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
21635 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
21636 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
21637 The other lines should be obvious.
21639 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
21640 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
21641 than you are used to.
21643 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
21644 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
21645 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
21647 @node Configuring nnmairix
21648 @subsection Configuring nnmairix
21650 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
21651 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
21652 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
21653 server. You will have to specify the following:
21658 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
21662 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
21663 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
21664 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
21665 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
21666 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
21667 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
21668 However, you can also create e.g. a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
21669 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
21670 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
21671 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
21672 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might lose mail
21673 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
21674 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
21675 @code{nnimap} server here.
21678 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
21679 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
21680 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
21681 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g. on your
21682 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
21683 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
21684 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
21687 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
21688 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e. all searches which
21689 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
21693 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
21694 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e. with hidden maildir
21695 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
21696 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
21697 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
21701 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21702 @subsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21709 @kindex G b c (Group)
21710 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
21711 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
21712 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
21713 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
21716 @kindex G b s (Group)
21717 @findex nnmairix-search
21718 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
21719 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
21720 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
21723 @kindex G b m (Group)
21724 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
21725 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
21726 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
21727 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
21730 @kindex G b i (Group)
21731 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
21732 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
21733 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
21736 @kindex G b g (Group)
21737 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
21738 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
21739 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
21740 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
21744 @kindex G b q (Group)
21745 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
21746 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
21747 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
21750 @kindex G b t (Group)
21751 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
21752 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
21753 i.e. if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
21754 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
21757 @kindex G b u (Group)
21758 @findex nnmairix-update-database
21759 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
21760 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
21761 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
21762 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
21763 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
21767 @kindex G b r (Group)
21768 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
21769 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
21770 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
21773 @kindex G b d (Group)
21774 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
21775 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
21776 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
21777 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
21780 @kindex G b a (Group)
21781 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
21782 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
21783 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
21784 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
21785 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
21786 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
21787 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
21788 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
21789 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
21792 @kindex G b p (Group)
21793 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
21794 Toggle marks propagation for this group
21795 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
21799 @kindex G b o (Group)
21800 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
21801 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
21802 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
21811 @kindex $ m (Summary)
21812 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
21813 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
21814 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
21815 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
21818 @kindex $ g (Summary)
21819 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
21820 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
21821 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
21822 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
21825 @kindex $ t (Summary)
21826 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
21827 Searches thread for the current article
21828 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
21829 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
21830 current article and enabled threads.
21833 @kindex $ f (Summary)
21834 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
21835 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
21836 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
21837 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
21840 @kindex $ o (Summary)
21841 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
21842 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
21843 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that
21844 e.g. replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
21845 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
21846 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
21847 article file name as a fallback method.
21850 @kindex $ u (Summary)
21851 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
21852 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
21853 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
21858 @node Propagating marks
21859 @subsection Propagating marks
21861 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
21862 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
21863 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
21865 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
21867 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
21868 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
21869 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
21870 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
21873 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
21874 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
21875 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
21876 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
21877 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
21878 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
21879 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
21880 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
21881 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
21882 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
21884 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
21885 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
21886 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
21887 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
21888 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
21889 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
21890 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
21892 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
21893 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
21894 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
21895 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
21896 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
21897 even more cumbersome.
21899 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
21900 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
21901 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
21903 Marks propagation is inactive by default. You can activate it for a
21904 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
21905 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
21906 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
21907 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
21908 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
21909 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
21911 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
21912 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
21913 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
21914 magically be set for the original article, too.
21916 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
21918 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
21919 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
21920 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
21921 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
21922 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
21923 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
21926 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
21927 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
21928 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
21929 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
21930 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
21931 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
21932 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
21934 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
21935 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
21936 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
21937 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
21938 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
21939 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
21940 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
21942 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e. if you
21943 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
21944 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
21945 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
21946 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
21947 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
21948 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
21949 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
21950 maildir as its file format.
21952 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
21953 If you work with this setup, just set
21954 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
21955 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
21956 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
21957 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
21958 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
21959 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
21961 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
21962 @subsection nnmairix tips and tricks
21968 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
21969 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
21970 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
21973 I use the following to check for mails:
21976 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
21978 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
21979 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
21980 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
21981 (gnus-group-list-groups))
21983 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
21986 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
21987 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
21991 Example: search group for ticked articles
21993 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
21994 articles always stay unread:
21996 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g. @samp{important}), use
21997 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
21999 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
22000 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
22002 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
22003 group? There are two options: You may simply use
22004 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
22005 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
22006 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
22007 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
22008 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
22009 e.g. by marking an article as read.
22011 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
22012 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
22013 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
22014 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
22015 snippet and the doc string for details.
22018 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
22020 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
22021 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
22022 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
22023 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
22024 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
22025 @code{nnml}, i.e. you will suddenly see groups of the form
22026 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
22027 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
22028 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
22029 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
22030 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
22031 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
22034 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
22035 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
22040 @node nnmairix caveats
22041 @subsection nnmairix caveats
22045 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
22046 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
22047 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
22048 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
22049 an example server definition:
22052 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
22055 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variable
22056 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
22057 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
22061 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
22062 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
22063 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}; this is the default). Be
22064 @emph{extra careful} if you use
22065 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are split
22066 into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as you
22067 check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
22070 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
22071 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
22074 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
22075 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
22078 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
22081 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
22082 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
22083 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
22084 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
22085 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
22086 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
22090 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
22091 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
22092 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
22093 it is gone for good.
22096 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
22097 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
22098 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
22099 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
22100 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
22101 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
22102 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
22103 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
22104 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
22107 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
22108 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
22110 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
22111 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
22112 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
22113 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
22114 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
22115 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
22116 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
22117 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
22118 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
22119 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
22120 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
22121 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
22128 @include message.texi
22129 @chapter Emacs MIME
22130 @include emacs-mime.texi
22132 @include sieve.texi
22144 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
22145 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
22146 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
22147 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
22148 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
22149 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
22150 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
22151 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
22152 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
22153 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
22154 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
22155 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
22156 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
22157 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
22158 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
22159 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
22160 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
22161 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
22162 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
22163 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
22164 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
22168 @node Process/Prefix
22169 @section Process/Prefix
22170 @cindex process/prefix convention
22172 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
22173 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
22175 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
22176 command to be performed on.
22180 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
22181 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
22182 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
22183 with the current one.
22185 @vindex transient-mark-mode
22186 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
22187 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
22189 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
22190 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
22193 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
22194 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
22196 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
22199 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
22200 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
22201 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
22202 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22204 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
22205 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
22206 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
22207 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
22208 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
22209 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
22210 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
22211 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
22213 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
22214 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
22215 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
22216 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
22217 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
22221 @section Interactive
22222 @cindex interaction
22226 @item gnus-novice-user
22227 @vindex gnus-novice-user
22228 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
22229 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
22230 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
22231 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
22234 @item gnus-expert-user
22235 @vindex gnus-expert-user
22236 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
22237 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing,
22238 no matter how strange. For example, quitting Gnus, exiting a group
22239 without an update, catching up with a group, deleting expired
22240 articles, and replying by mail to a news message will not require
22243 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
22244 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
22245 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
22246 is @code{t} by default.
22248 @item gnus-interactive-exit
22249 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
22250 If non-@code{nil}, require a confirmation when exiting Gnus. If
22251 @code{quiet}, update any active summary buffers automatically without
22252 querying. The default value is @code{t}.
22256 @node Symbolic Prefixes
22257 @section Symbolic Prefixes
22258 @cindex symbolic prefixes
22260 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
22261 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
22262 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
22263 rule of 900 to the current article.
22265 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
22266 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
22267 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
22268 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
22269 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
22270 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
22271 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
22273 @kindex M-i (Summary)
22274 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
22275 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
22276 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
22277 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
22278 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
22279 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
22280 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
22281 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
22283 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
22284 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
22285 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
22287 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
22291 @node Formatting Variables
22292 @section Formatting Variables
22293 @cindex formatting variables
22295 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
22296 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
22297 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
22298 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
22299 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
22302 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
22303 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
22304 lots of percentages everywhere.
22307 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
22308 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
22309 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
22310 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
22311 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
22312 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
22313 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
22314 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
22317 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
22318 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
22319 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
22320 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
22321 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
22322 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
22323 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
22324 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
22326 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
22327 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
22329 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
22330 @findex gnus-update-format
22331 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
22332 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
22333 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
22334 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
22338 @node Formatting Basics
22339 @subsection Formatting Basics
22341 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
22342 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
22343 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
22345 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
22346 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
22347 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
22348 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
22349 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
22352 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
22353 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
22354 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
22355 less than 4 characters wide.
22357 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
22358 @samp{%&user-date;}.
22361 @node Mode Line Formatting
22362 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
22364 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
22365 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
22366 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
22367 with the following two differences:
22372 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
22375 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
22376 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
22377 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
22378 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
22379 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
22380 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
22381 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
22386 @node Advanced Formatting
22387 @subsection Advanced Formatting
22389 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
22390 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
22391 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
22392 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
22394 These are the valid modifiers:
22399 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
22403 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
22408 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
22411 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
22416 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
22419 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
22422 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
22425 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22431 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22436 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22437 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22438 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22439 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22440 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22441 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22442 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22444 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22445 last operation, padding.
22447 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
22448 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
22449 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
22450 @xref{Compilation}.
22453 @node User-Defined Specs
22454 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22456 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22457 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22458 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22459 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22460 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22461 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22462 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22463 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22464 should protect against that.
22466 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22467 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22469 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22470 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22471 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22472 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22476 @node Formatting Fonts
22477 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22480 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22481 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22482 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22483 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22484 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22488 @vindex gnus-face-0
22489 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22490 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22491 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22492 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22493 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22494 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22496 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
22497 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
22498 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
22499 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22500 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22501 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22502 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22503 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22504 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22505 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22506 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22507 (in Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22508 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22509 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22512 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22515 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22516 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22517 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22519 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22520 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22521 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22522 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22523 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22524 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22525 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22527 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22528 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22529 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22532 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22533 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22535 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22536 mode-line variables.
22538 @node Positioning Point
22539 @subsection Positioning Point
22541 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22542 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22543 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22545 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22547 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22548 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22549 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22551 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22552 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22553 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22558 @subsection Tabulation
22560 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22561 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22562 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22563 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22565 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22566 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22568 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22569 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22570 This is the soft tabulator.
22572 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22573 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22574 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22577 @node Wide Characters
22578 @subsection Wide Characters
22580 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22581 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22582 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22584 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22585 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22586 these countries, that's not true.
22588 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22589 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22590 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22591 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22595 @node Window Layout
22596 @section Window Layout
22597 @cindex window layout
22599 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22601 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22602 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22603 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22604 @code{t} by default.
22606 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22607 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22609 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22610 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22611 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22614 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)))
22615 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22619 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22620 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22621 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22622 possible names is listed below.
22624 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22625 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22628 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22632 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22633 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22634 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22635 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22636 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22637 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22638 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22639 size spec per split.
22641 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22642 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22643 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22644 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22645 present) gets focus.
22647 Here's a more complicated example:
22650 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22651 (summary 0.25 point)
22655 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22656 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22657 occupy, not a percentage.
22659 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22660 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22661 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22662 be used as a split.
22664 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22667 (article (horizontal 1.0
22671 (summary 0.25 point)
22675 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22676 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22678 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22679 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22680 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22681 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22682 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22684 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22685 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22686 lines from the splits.
22688 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22693 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22694 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22695 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22696 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22697 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22698 size = number | frame-params
22699 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22703 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22704 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22705 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22706 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22708 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22709 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22710 @cindex window height
22711 @cindex window width
22712 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22713 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22714 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22715 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22716 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22717 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22719 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22720 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22721 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22722 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22724 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22725 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22726 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22727 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22728 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22729 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22730 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22731 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22732 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22733 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22734 configuration list.
22737 (gnus-configure-frame
22741 (article 0.3 point))
22749 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22750 @code{frame} split:
22753 (gnus-configure-frame
22756 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22758 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22759 (user-position . t)
22760 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22765 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22766 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22767 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22768 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22769 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22770 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22771 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22772 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22774 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22775 be found in its default value.
22777 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22778 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22779 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22783 (message (horizontal 1.0
22784 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22786 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22791 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22792 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22793 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22798 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22799 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22800 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22801 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22802 (name . "Message"))
22803 (message 1.0 point))))
22806 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22807 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22808 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22809 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22810 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22813 (gnus-add-configuration
22814 '(article (vertical 1.0
22816 (summary .25 point)
22820 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22821 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22822 Gnus has been loaded.
22824 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22825 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22826 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22827 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22828 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22830 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22831 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22832 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22835 @subsection Window Configuration Names
22837 Here's a list of most of the currently known window configurations,
22838 and when they're used:
22845 Entering a group and showing only the summary.
22848 Selecting an article.
22854 Browsing groups from the server buffer.
22857 Composing a (new) message.
22860 Showing only the article buffer.
22863 Editing an article.
22866 Editing group parameters and the like.
22869 Editing a server definition.
22872 Composing a news message.
22875 Replying or following up an article without yanking the text.
22878 Forwarding a message.
22881 Replying or following up an article with yanking the text.
22884 Bouncing a message.
22887 Sending an article to an external process.
22890 Sending a bug report.
22893 Displaying the score trace.
22896 Displaying the score words.
22899 Displaying the split trace.
22901 @item compose-bounce
22902 Composing a bounce message.
22905 Previewing a @acronym{MIME} part.
22910 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22914 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22915 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22930 (gnus-add-configuration
22933 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22935 (summary 0.16 point)
22938 (gnus-add-configuration
22941 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22942 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22948 @node Faces and Fonts
22949 @section Faces and Fonts
22954 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22955 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22956 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22961 @section Compilation
22962 @cindex compilation
22963 @cindex byte-compilation
22965 @findex gnus-compile
22967 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22968 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22969 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22970 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22971 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22972 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22975 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22976 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22977 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22978 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22979 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22980 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22981 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22985 @section Mode Lines
22988 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22989 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22990 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22991 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22992 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22993 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22994 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22997 @cindex display-time
22999 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
23000 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
23001 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
23002 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
23003 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
23004 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
23005 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
23006 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
23009 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
23011 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
23012 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
23014 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
23015 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
23016 (length display-time-string)))))
23019 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
23020 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
23021 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
23022 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
23023 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
23026 @node Highlighting and Menus
23027 @section Highlighting and Menus
23029 @cindex highlighting
23032 @vindex gnus-visual
23033 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
23034 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
23035 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
23038 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
23039 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
23042 @item group-highlight
23043 Do highlights in the group buffer.
23044 @item summary-highlight
23045 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
23046 @item article-highlight
23047 Do highlights in the article buffer.
23049 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
23051 Create menus in the group buffer.
23053 Create menus in the summary buffers.
23055 Create menus in the article buffer.
23057 Create menus in the browse buffer.
23059 Create menus in the server buffer.
23061 Create menus in the score buffers.
23063 Create menus in all buffers.
23066 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
23067 buffers, you could say something like:
23070 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
23073 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
23076 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
23079 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
23080 in all Gnus buffers.
23082 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
23085 @item gnus-mouse-face
23086 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
23087 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
23088 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
23092 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
23096 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
23097 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
23098 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
23100 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
23101 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
23102 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
23104 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
23105 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
23106 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
23108 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
23109 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
23110 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
23112 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
23113 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
23114 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
23116 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
23117 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
23118 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
23128 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
23129 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
23130 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
23131 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
23132 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
23134 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
23135 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
23136 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
23138 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
23139 been idle for thirty minutes:
23142 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
23145 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
23149 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
23152 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
23153 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
23154 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23156 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
23157 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
23158 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
23159 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23161 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
23162 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
23163 @var{idle} minutes.
23165 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
23166 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
23169 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
23170 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
23171 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
23173 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
23174 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
23175 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
23176 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
23178 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
23179 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23181 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
23183 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
23186 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
23187 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
23188 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
23189 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
23190 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
23191 @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
23192 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
23193 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
23194 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
23195 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
23197 @findex gnus-demon-init
23198 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
23199 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
23200 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
23201 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
23202 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
23204 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
23205 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
23206 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
23214 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
23215 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
23216 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
23218 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
23219 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
23220 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
23221 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
23222 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
23223 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
23224 @code{undo} function.
23226 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
23227 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
23228 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
23229 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
23230 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
23231 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
23232 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
23233 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
23234 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
23235 never be totally undoable.
23237 @findex gnus-undo-mode
23238 @vindex gnus-use-undo
23240 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
23241 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
23242 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
23243 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
23247 @node Predicate Specifiers
23248 @section Predicate Specifiers
23249 @cindex predicate specifiers
23251 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
23252 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
23253 to type all that much.
23255 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
23260 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
23261 gnus-article-unread-p)
23264 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
23265 functions all take one parameter.
23267 @findex gnus-make-predicate
23268 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
23269 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
23270 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
23275 @section Moderation
23278 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
23279 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
23280 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
23283 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
23287 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
23290 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
23292 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
23297 You split your incoming mail by matching on
23298 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
23299 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
23302 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
23303 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
23306 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
23307 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
23311 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
23314 (setq gnus-moderated-list
23315 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
23319 @node Fetching a Group
23320 @section Fetching a Group
23321 @cindex fetching a group
23323 @findex gnus-fetch-group
23324 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
23325 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
23326 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
23327 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
23328 It takes the group name as a parameter.
23331 @node Image Enhancements
23332 @section Image Enhancements
23334 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
23335 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
23336 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
23339 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
23340 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
23341 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
23342 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
23343 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
23344 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
23352 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
23353 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
23354 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
23358 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
23359 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
23360 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
23368 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
23369 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
23370 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
23371 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
23372 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
23373 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
23374 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
23375 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
23376 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
23377 @code{display} program.
23379 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
23380 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
23381 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
23382 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
23383 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
23384 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
23385 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
23386 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
23388 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
23389 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
23390 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
23391 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
23392 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
23393 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
23395 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
23403 @vindex gnus-x-face
23404 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
23405 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
23406 default colors are black and white.
23408 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
23409 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
23410 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
23411 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
23412 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
23413 XEmacs. Here are examples:
23416 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
23417 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23418 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
23419 (png . (:ascent 80))))
23421 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
23422 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23423 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
23424 (png . (:relief -2))))
23427 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
23428 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
23429 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
23430 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
23431 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
23432 @samp{libcompface} library.
23435 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
23436 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
23437 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
23438 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
23439 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
23440 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
23442 @findex gnus-random-x-face
23443 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
23444 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
23445 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23446 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23447 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23448 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23449 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23450 header data as a string.
23452 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23453 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23454 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23455 randomly generated data.
23457 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23458 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23459 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23460 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23461 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23463 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23464 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23467 (setq message-required-news-headers
23468 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23469 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23472 Using the last function would be something like this:
23475 (setq message-required-news-headers
23476 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23477 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23478 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23479 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23487 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23489 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23490 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23491 represent the author of the message.
23494 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23495 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23496 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23499 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23500 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23502 Viewing a @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23505 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23507 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23509 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23510 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23512 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23513 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23514 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23516 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23517 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23518 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23519 converts the file to Face format by using the
23520 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23522 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23523 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23526 (setq message-required-news-headers
23527 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23528 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23529 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23534 @subsection Smileys
23539 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23544 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23545 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23547 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23548 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23551 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23554 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23555 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23556 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23557 text and maps that to file names.
23559 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23560 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23561 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23562 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23563 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23566 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
23571 @vindex smiley-style
23572 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
23573 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
23574 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
23575 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
23578 @item smiley-data-directory
23579 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23580 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
23581 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
23583 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23584 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23585 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23599 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23600 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23601 over your shoulder as you read news.
23603 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23612 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23613 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23614 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23615 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23616 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23617 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23618 @code{GIF} formats.
23621 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23622 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23623 point your Web browser at
23624 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23626 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23627 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23629 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23630 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23633 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23634 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23635 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23636 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23638 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23642 @item gnus-picon-databases
23643 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23644 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23645 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23646 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23647 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23649 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23650 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23651 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23652 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23654 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23655 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23656 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23657 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23659 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23660 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23661 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23662 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23663 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23665 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23666 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23667 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23668 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23670 @item gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23671 @vindex gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23672 If non-@code{nil} (which is the default), don't display picons for
23673 things like @samp{.net} and @samp{.de}, which aren't usually very
23679 @subsection Gravatars
23683 \include{gravatars}
23687 A gravatar is an image registered to an e-mail address.
23689 You can submit yours on-line at @uref{http://www.gravatar.com}.
23691 The following variables offer control over how things are displayed.
23695 @item gnus-gravatar-size
23696 @vindex gnus-gravatar-size
23697 The size in pixels of gravatars. Gravatars are always square, so one
23698 number for the size is enough.
23700 @item gnus-gravatar-properties
23701 @vindex gnus-gravatar-properties
23702 List of image properties applied to Gravatar images.
23704 @item gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23705 @vindex gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23706 Regexp that matches mail addresses or names of people of which avatars
23707 should not be displayed, or @code{nil}. It default to the value of
23708 @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (@pxref{X-Face}).
23712 If you want to see them in the From field, set:
23714 (setq gnus-treat-from-gravatar 'head)
23717 If you want to see them in the Cc and To fields, set:
23720 (setq gnus-treat-mail-gravatar 'head)
23725 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23728 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23729 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23730 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23731 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23732 unusual directory structure.
23734 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23735 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23736 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23741 @subsubsection Toolbar
23745 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23746 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23747 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23748 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23749 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23750 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23751 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23752 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23754 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23755 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23756 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23757 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23758 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23759 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23761 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23762 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23763 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23765 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23766 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23767 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23769 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23770 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23771 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23782 @node Fuzzy Matching
23783 @section Fuzzy Matching
23784 @cindex fuzzy matching
23786 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23787 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23789 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23790 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23791 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23793 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23794 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23795 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23796 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23797 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23800 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23801 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23805 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23807 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23808 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23809 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23810 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23811 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23812 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23813 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23814 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23817 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23818 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23819 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23820 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23821 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23822 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23824 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23827 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23828 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23829 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23830 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23833 @node The problem of spam
23834 @subsection The problem of spam
23836 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23837 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23839 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23841 First, some background on spam.
23843 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23844 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23845 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23846 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23847 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23848 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23849 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23850 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23851 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23853 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23854 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23855 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23856 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23857 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23858 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23859 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23860 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23861 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23864 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23865 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23866 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23867 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23868 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23869 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23870 from Bulgarian IPs.
23872 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23873 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23874 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23875 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23877 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23878 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23879 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23880 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23882 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23883 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23884 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23885 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23886 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23887 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23888 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23889 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23890 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23892 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23893 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23894 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23895 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23896 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23897 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23898 down for some time because of the incident.
23900 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23901 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23902 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23903 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23904 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23905 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23906 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23907 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23908 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23909 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23910 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23912 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23913 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23914 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23915 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23916 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23917 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23918 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23921 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23922 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23926 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23928 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23929 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23931 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23932 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23933 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23934 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23935 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23936 part of the mail address.)
23939 (setq message-default-news-headers
23940 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23943 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23944 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23948 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23949 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23950 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23955 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23956 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23957 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23958 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23960 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23961 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23962 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23963 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23964 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23965 your fancy split rule in this way:
23970 (to "larsi" "misc")
23974 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23975 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23976 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23977 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23978 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23980 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23981 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23982 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23983 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23985 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23989 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23990 @cindex SpamAssassin
23991 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23994 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23995 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23996 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23997 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23998 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23999 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
24000 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
24002 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
24003 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
24004 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
24007 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
24008 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
24009 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
24010 Specifiers}) follow.
24014 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
24018 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
24021 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
24022 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
24023 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
24026 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
24030 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
24033 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
24034 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
24038 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
24039 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
24040 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
24041 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
24044 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
24046 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
24050 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
24051 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
24055 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
24056 downloaded by default. You need to set
24057 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
24058 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
24060 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
24061 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
24062 spam. And here is the nifty function:
24065 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
24066 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
24068 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
24069 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
24073 @subsection Hashcash
24076 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
24077 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
24078 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
24079 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
24080 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
24082 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
24083 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
24084 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
24085 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
24086 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
24087 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
24088 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
24089 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
24090 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
24091 one of them separately.
24094 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
24095 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
24096 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
24097 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
24098 need to install to use this feature, see
24099 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
24100 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
24102 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
24103 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
24104 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
24107 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
24110 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
24114 @item hashcash-default-payment
24115 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
24116 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
24117 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
24120 @item hashcash-payment-alist
24121 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
24122 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
24123 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
24124 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
24125 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
24126 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
24127 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
24128 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
24130 @item hashcash-path
24131 @vindex hashcash-path
24132 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
24133 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
24134 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
24135 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
24136 when you generate hashcash payments.
24140 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
24141 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
24142 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
24143 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
24144 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
24145 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
24146 Hashcash Payments}).
24149 @section Spam Package
24150 @cindex spam filtering
24153 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
24154 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
24155 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
24156 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
24159 * Spam Package Introduction::
24160 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
24161 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
24162 * Spam and Ham Processors::
24163 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
24165 * Extending the Spam package::
24166 * Spam Statistics Package::
24169 @node Spam Package Introduction
24170 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
24171 @cindex spam filtering
24172 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
24175 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
24176 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
24178 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
24179 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
24181 @cindex spam-initialize
24182 @vindex spam-use-stat
24183 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
24184 @code{spam-initialize}:
24190 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
24191 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
24192 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
24193 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
24194 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
24196 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
24197 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
24199 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
24200 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
24202 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
24203 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
24204 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
24205 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
24206 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
24208 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
24209 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
24210 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
24211 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
24212 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
24215 @cindex spam back ends
24216 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
24217 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
24218 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
24219 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
24220 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24222 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
24223 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
24225 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
24226 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
24227 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
24228 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
24229 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
24230 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
24231 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
24233 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
24234 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
24235 point, the Spam package does several things:
24237 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
24238 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
24239 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
24240 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
24241 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
24242 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
24243 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
24244 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
24247 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
24248 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
24256 @kindex $ (Summary)
24257 @kindex M-d (Summary)
24258 @kindex S x (Summary)
24259 @kindex M s x (Summary)
24260 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24261 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24262 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
24263 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
24267 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
24268 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
24270 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
24271 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
24272 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
24273 to be processed as ham by setting
24274 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
24275 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
24277 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24278 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24279 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
24280 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
24281 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
24282 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
24283 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
24284 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
24285 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
24286 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
24287 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
24288 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
24290 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
24291 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
24292 want each article to be processed only once, load the
24293 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
24294 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
24295 Configuration Examples}.
24297 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
24298 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
24299 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
24300 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
24302 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
24303 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
24305 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
24306 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
24307 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
24309 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
24310 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
24311 @cindex spam filtering
24312 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
24315 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
24316 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
24317 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
24318 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
24319 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
24325 @vindex spam-split-group
24327 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
24328 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
24329 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
24330 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
24331 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
24332 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
24333 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
24334 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
24335 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
24337 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
24339 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
24340 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
24341 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
24342 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to
24343 @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can ``scan''
24344 the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only retrieves
24345 the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells it to
24346 retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by default
24347 because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
24348 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Client-Side
24351 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
24352 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
24353 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
24354 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
24355 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
24356 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
24357 ends, and the following split rule:
24360 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24361 (any "ding" "ding")
24363 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24368 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
24369 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
24370 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
24371 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
24372 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
24373 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
24375 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
24376 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
24377 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
24378 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
24383 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
24384 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24385 (any "ding" "ding")
24386 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
24388 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24393 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
24394 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
24395 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
24396 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
24397 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
24398 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
24399 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
24401 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24402 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24403 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24404 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24406 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
24407 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
24410 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
24411 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
24413 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
24414 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
24415 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
24416 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24418 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24419 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24420 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24421 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
24423 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
24424 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
24425 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
24427 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
24428 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
24429 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
24430 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
24431 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
24432 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
24433 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
24435 @node Spam and Ham Processors
24436 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
24437 @cindex spam filtering
24438 @cindex spam filtering variables
24439 @cindex spam variables
24442 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
24443 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
24444 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
24445 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
24446 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
24447 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
24448 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
24450 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
24451 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
24452 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
24453 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
24455 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24456 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
24457 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
24458 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
24459 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
24460 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
24461 by customizing the corresponding variable
24462 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
24463 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
24464 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
24465 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
24466 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
24467 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
24468 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
24471 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
24473 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
24474 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
24475 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
24476 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
24477 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
24478 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
24479 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
24480 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
24481 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
24482 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
24483 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
24484 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
24485 processor which will study them as spam samples.
24487 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
24488 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
24489 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
24490 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
24491 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
24492 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
24493 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
24494 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
24497 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24498 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
24499 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
24500 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
24501 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
24502 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
24503 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24508 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24509 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24510 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24511 you really want to.
24514 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24515 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24516 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24517 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24518 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24519 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24522 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24523 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24524 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24525 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24526 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24527 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24528 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24529 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24530 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24531 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24532 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24533 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24534 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24535 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24536 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24538 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24539 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24541 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24542 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24543 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24545 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24546 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24548 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24549 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24550 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24551 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24552 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24554 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24555 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24556 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24557 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24558 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24561 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24562 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24563 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24564 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24565 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24566 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24567 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24568 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24569 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24570 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24571 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24572 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24573 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24575 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24576 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24578 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24579 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24582 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24583 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24584 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24585 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24586 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24587 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24588 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24590 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24591 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24592 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24593 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24595 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24596 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24597 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24598 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24599 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24600 from the mail server.
24602 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24603 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24604 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24605 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24607 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24608 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24609 @cindex spam filtering
24610 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24611 @cindex spam configuration examples
24614 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24616 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24618 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24619 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24620 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24624 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24626 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24627 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24628 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24629 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24630 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24631 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24632 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24633 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24634 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24635 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
24636 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24637 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24638 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24639 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24640 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24641 (any "ding" "ding")
24642 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24644 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24647 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24649 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24650 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24651 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24652 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24654 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24656 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24657 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24658 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24659 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24660 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24662 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24663 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24665 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24667 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24668 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24670 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24671 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24672 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24674 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24676 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24677 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24679 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24680 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24681 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24683 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24684 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24685 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24686 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24688 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24689 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24690 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24694 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24695 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24697 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24698 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24699 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24700 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24701 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24702 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24703 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24704 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24705 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24707 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24708 does most of the job for me:
24711 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24712 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24713 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24714 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24715 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24716 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24717 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24722 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24724 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24725 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24726 bogofilter or DCC).
24728 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24729 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24730 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24731 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24732 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24733 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24734 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24736 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24737 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24738 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24739 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24740 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24741 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24743 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24745 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24746 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24747 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24748 @samp{training.spam}.
24751 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24753 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24755 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24756 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24757 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24761 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24764 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24765 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24766 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24767 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24768 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24770 @node Spam Back Ends
24771 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24772 @cindex spam back ends
24774 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24775 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24776 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24777 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24781 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24782 * BBDB Whitelists::
24783 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24784 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24786 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24788 * SpamAssassin back end::
24789 * ifile spam filtering::
24790 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24794 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24795 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24796 @cindex spam filtering
24797 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24798 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24801 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24803 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24804 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24805 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24806 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24811 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24813 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24814 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24815 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24816 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24817 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24821 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24823 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24824 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24825 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24829 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24831 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24832 customizing the group parameters or the
24833 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24834 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24835 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24839 Instead of the obsolete
24840 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24841 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24842 the same way, we promise.
24846 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24848 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24849 customizing the group parameters or the
24850 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24851 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24852 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24857 Instead of the obsolete
24858 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24859 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24860 the same way, we promise.
24864 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24865 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24866 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24867 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24868 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24870 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24871 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24872 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24873 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24875 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24876 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24877 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24878 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24879 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24880 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24882 @node BBDB Whitelists
24883 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24884 @cindex spam filtering
24885 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24886 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24889 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24891 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24892 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24893 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24894 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24895 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24896 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24897 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24901 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24903 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24904 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24905 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24906 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24907 classified as spammers.
24909 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24910 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24911 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24912 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24917 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24919 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24920 customizing the group parameters or the
24921 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24922 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24923 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24928 Instead of the obsolete
24929 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24930 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24931 the same way, we promise.
24935 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24936 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24937 @cindex spam reporting
24938 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24939 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24942 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24944 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24945 customizing the group parameters or the
24946 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24947 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24948 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24951 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24955 Instead of the obsolete
24956 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24957 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24958 same way, we promise.
24962 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24964 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24965 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24966 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24967 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24968 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24972 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24974 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24975 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24976 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24980 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24981 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24982 @cindex spam filtering
24983 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24986 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24988 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24989 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24990 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24991 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24992 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24993 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24998 @subsubsection Blackholes
24999 @cindex spam filtering
25000 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
25003 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
25005 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
25006 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
25007 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
25008 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
25009 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
25010 contains outdated servers.
25012 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
25013 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
25014 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
25015 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
25016 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
25017 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
25021 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
25023 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
25027 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
25029 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
25030 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
25034 @defvar spam-use-dig
25036 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
25037 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
25041 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
25042 ham processor for blackholes.
25044 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
25045 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
25046 @cindex spam filtering
25047 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
25050 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
25052 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
25053 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
25054 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
25055 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
25056 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
25057 message is spam or ham, respectively.
25061 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
25063 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25064 the message, positively identify it as spam.
25068 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
25070 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
25071 the message, positively identify it as ham.
25075 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
25076 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
25079 @subsubsection Bogofilter
25080 @cindex spam filtering
25081 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
25084 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
25086 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25089 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
25090 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
25091 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
25092 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
25093 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
25094 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
25096 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
25097 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
25100 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
25101 processing will be turned off.
25103 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
25112 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
25113 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
25116 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
25118 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25119 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
25120 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
25121 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
25122 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
25123 installation documents for details.
25125 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
25129 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
25130 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25131 customizing the group parameters or the
25132 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25133 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
25134 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
25138 Instead of the obsolete
25139 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25140 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25141 the same way, we promise.
25144 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
25145 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25146 customizing the group parameters or the
25147 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25148 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25149 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
25150 of non-spam messages.
25154 Instead of the obsolete
25155 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25156 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25157 the same way, we promise.
25160 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
25162 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
25163 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
25164 database directory.
25168 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
25169 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25170 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
25171 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
25172 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
25173 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
25175 @node SpamAssassin back end
25176 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
25177 @cindex spam filtering
25178 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
25181 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
25183 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
25185 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
25186 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
25187 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
25188 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
25191 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
25192 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
25193 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
25194 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
25197 You should not enable this if you use
25198 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
25202 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
25204 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
25205 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
25207 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
25211 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
25213 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
25214 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
25215 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
25216 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
25220 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
25221 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
25222 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
25223 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
25224 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
25225 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
25226 to test this functionality.
25228 @node ifile spam filtering
25229 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
25230 @cindex spam filtering
25231 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
25234 @defvar spam-use-ifile
25236 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
25237 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
25241 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
25243 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
25244 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
25245 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
25249 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
25251 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
25252 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
25253 the default value of @samp{spam}.
25256 @defvar spam-ifile-database
25258 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
25259 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
25263 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
25264 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25265 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
25266 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
25269 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
25270 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
25271 @cindex spam filtering
25272 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
25276 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
25277 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
25278 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
25279 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
25280 spam-stat dictionary}.
25282 @defvar spam-use-stat
25286 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
25287 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25288 customizing the group parameters or the
25289 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25290 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
25291 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
25295 Instead of the obsolete
25296 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25297 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25298 the same way, we promise.
25301 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
25302 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25303 customizing the group parameters or the
25304 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25305 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25306 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
25307 of non-spam messages.
25311 Instead of the obsolete
25312 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25313 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25314 the same way, we promise.
25317 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
25318 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
25319 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
25320 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
25321 @code{spam-split} are provided.
25324 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
25325 @cindex spam filtering
25329 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
25330 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
25331 installed separately.
25333 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
25334 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
25335 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
25336 mail as a spam mail or not.
25338 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
25339 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
25340 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
25342 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
25345 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
25346 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
25347 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
25348 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
25349 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
25350 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
25351 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
25352 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
25355 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
25356 spam-split-group "Junk"
25357 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
25358 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
25359 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
25362 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
25363 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
25367 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
25368 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
25369 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
25373 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
25374 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
25375 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
25376 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
25377 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
25378 database to live somewhere special, set
25379 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
25382 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
25383 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
25384 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
25385 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
25386 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
25387 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
25388 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
25389 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
25390 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
25391 @xref{Spam Package}.
25393 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
25394 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25395 customizing the group parameter or the
25396 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25397 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
25398 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
25402 Instead of the obsolete
25403 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25404 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25405 the same way, we promise.
25408 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
25409 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25410 customizing the group parameter or the
25411 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25412 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
25413 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
25418 Instead of the obsolete
25419 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25420 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25421 the same way, we promise.
25424 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
25425 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
25428 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
25429 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
25430 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
25432 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
25433 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
25434 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
25435 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
25436 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
25437 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
25439 @node Extending the Spam package
25440 @subsection Extending the Spam package
25441 @cindex spam filtering
25442 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
25443 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
25445 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
25446 incoming mail, provide the following:
25454 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
25455 "True if blackbox should be used.")
25458 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
25460 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
25461 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
25462 register/unregister routines as a start, or other register/unregister
25463 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
25464 register/unregister spam and ham.
25469 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
25470 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
25471 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
25472 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
25477 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
25484 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
25485 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
25487 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
25488 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
25489 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
25490 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
25493 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
25494 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
25495 Only applicable to spam groups.")
25497 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
25498 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
25499 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25508 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25509 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25511 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25512 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25513 variable customization.
25517 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25519 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25520 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25522 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25523 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25529 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25531 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25532 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25533 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25536 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25538 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25539 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25543 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25545 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25546 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25547 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25551 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25553 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25554 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25555 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25558 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25560 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25561 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25565 @code{spam-install-backend}
25567 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25568 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25569 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25572 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25574 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25575 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25576 never install such a back end.
25581 @node Spam Statistics Package
25582 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25583 @cindex Paul Graham
25584 @cindex Graham, Paul
25585 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25586 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25587 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25589 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25590 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25591 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25592 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25593 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25594 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25595 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25596 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25597 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25600 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25601 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25602 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25603 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25604 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25605 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25606 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25607 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25609 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25610 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25611 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25613 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25614 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25615 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25616 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25617 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25620 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25621 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25622 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25625 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25626 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25628 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25629 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25630 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25631 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25632 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25634 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25635 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25636 per mail. Use the following:
25638 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25639 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25640 is treated as one spam mail.
25643 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25644 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25645 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25648 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25649 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25650 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25651 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25652 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25653 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25655 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25656 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25657 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25658 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25659 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25662 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25663 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25664 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25665 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25668 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25669 reset the dictionary.
25671 @defun spam-stat-reset
25672 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25675 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25676 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25677 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25678 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25679 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25680 only non-spam mails.
25682 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25683 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25684 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25687 @defun spam-stat-save
25688 Save the dictionary.
25691 @defvar spam-stat-file
25692 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25693 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25696 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25697 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25699 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25700 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25702 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25705 (require 'spam-stat)
25709 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25712 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25713 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25714 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25715 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25717 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25718 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25719 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25720 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25723 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25724 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25728 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25729 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25732 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25733 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25734 expression are considered potential spam.
25737 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25738 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25739 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25743 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25744 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25745 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25746 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25747 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25750 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25751 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25752 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25756 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25757 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25758 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25759 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25760 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25764 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25765 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25766 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25767 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25772 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25773 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25775 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25777 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25778 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25779 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25782 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25783 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25784 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25787 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25788 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25789 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25790 already been processed as non-spam.
25793 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25794 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25795 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25796 been processed as spam.
25799 @defun spam-stat-save
25800 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25801 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25804 @defun spam-stat-load
25805 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25806 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25809 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25810 Return the spam score for a word.
25813 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25814 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25817 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25818 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25819 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25822 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25823 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25826 (require 'spam-stat)
25830 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25833 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25834 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25835 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25836 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25837 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25838 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25839 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25840 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25841 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25842 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25843 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25844 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25845 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25846 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25849 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25852 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25853 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25854 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25855 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25856 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25857 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25860 @node The Gnus Registry
25861 @section The Gnus Registry
25866 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
25867 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
25868 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
25869 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
25870 features are pretty cool.
25872 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
25873 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
25877 Split messages to their parent
25879 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
25880 the sender in addition to the Message-ID. Several strategies are
25884 Refer to messages by ID
25886 Commands like @code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article} can take
25887 advantage of the registry to jump to the referred article, regardless
25888 of the group the message is in.
25891 Store custom flags and keywords
25893 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
25894 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
25895 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
25899 Store arbitrary data
25901 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
25902 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
25903 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
25907 * Gnus Registry Setup::
25908 * Fancy splitting to parent::
25909 * Registry Article Refer Method::
25910 * Store custom flags and keywords::
25911 * Store arbitrary data::
25914 @node Gnus Registry Setup
25915 @subsection Gnus Registry Setup
25917 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
25920 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500)
25922 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25925 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
25926 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
25927 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.) so
25928 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
25929 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
25931 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
25932 what they do before you copy them blindly).
25936 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
25937 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
25941 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
25942 ;; this is the default
25943 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
25946 They say: keep a lot of messages around, track messages by sender and
25947 subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when the registry splits
25948 incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where messages should go
25949 if there's more than one possibility. In addition, the registry
25950 should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'', ``nnrss'',
25951 ``spam'', or ``train.''
25953 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
25954 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
25955 the general settings.
25957 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
25958 The groups that will not be followed by
25959 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
25960 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
25961 By default any group name that ends with ``delayed'', ``drafts'',
25962 ``queue'', or ``INBOX'', belongs to the nnmairix backend, or contains
25963 the word ``archive'' is not followed.
25966 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
25967 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
25968 registry will keep.
25971 @defvar gnus-registry-max-pruned-entries
25972 The maximum number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries
25973 the registry will keep after pruning.
25976 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
25977 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions. By
25978 default the file name is @code{.gnus.registry.eioio} in the same
25979 directory as your @code{.newsrc.eld}.
25982 @node Registry Article Refer Method
25983 @subsection Fetching by @code{Message-ID} Using the Registry
25985 The registry knows how to map each @code{Message-ID} to the group it's
25986 in. This can be leveraged to enhance the ``article refer method'',
25987 the thing that tells Gnus how to look up an article given its
25988 Message-ID (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25991 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
25993 The @code{nnregistry} refer method does exactly that. It has the
25994 advantage that an article may be found regardless of the group it's
25995 in---provided its @code{Message-ID} is known to the registry. It can
25996 be enabled by augmenting the start-up file with something along these
26000 ;; Keep enough entries to have a good hit rate when referring to an
26001 ;; article using the registry. Use long group names so that Gnus
26002 ;; knows where the article is.
26003 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500)
26005 (gnus-registry-initialize)
26007 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
26010 (nnweb "gmane" (nnweb-type gmane))))
26013 The example above instructs Gnus to first look up the article in the
26014 current group, or, alternatively, using the registry, and finally, if
26015 all else fails, using Gmane.
26017 @node Fancy splitting to parent
26018 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
26020 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
26022 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
26023 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
26024 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
26027 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
26028 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
26029 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
26030 have to put a rule like this:
26033 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
26035 ;; split to parent: you need this
26036 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
26038 ;; other rules, as an example
26044 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
26045 following variables.
26047 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
26048 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
26049 Customize interface. By default it's @code{(subject sender)}, which
26050 may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large and
26051 people don't stick to the same groups.
26054 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
26055 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
26056 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
26057 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
26058 the majority of matches or on the first found. I find @code{majority}
26062 @node Store custom flags and keywords
26063 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
26065 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
26066 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
26067 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
26069 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
26070 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
26071 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
26072 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
26073 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
26074 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
26076 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
26077 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
26078 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
26082 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
26083 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
26084 will offer the available marks for completion.
26087 You can use @code{defalias} to install a summary line formatting
26088 function that will show the registry marks. There are two flavors of
26089 this function, either showing the marks as single characters, using
26090 their @code{:char} property, or showing the marks as full strings.
26093 ;; show the marks as single characters (see the :char property in
26094 ;; `gnus-registry-marks'):
26095 ;; (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-M 'gnus-registry-article-marks-to-chars)
26097 ;; show the marks by name (see `gnus-registry-marks'):
26098 ;; (defalias 'gnus-user-format-function-M 'gnus-registry-article-marks-to-names)
26102 @node Store arbitrary data
26103 @subsection Store arbitrary data
26105 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
26106 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
26109 @defun gnus-registry-set-id-key (id key value)
26110 Store @code{value} under @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26113 @defun gnus-registry-get-id-key (id key)
26114 Get the data under @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26117 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
26118 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
26119 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
26120 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
26121 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
26126 @section Interaction with other modes
26131 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
26132 buffers. It is enabled with
26134 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
26139 @findex gnus-dired-attach
26140 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
26141 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
26142 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
26145 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
26146 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
26147 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
26151 @findex gnus-dired-print
26152 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
26153 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
26156 @node Various Various
26157 @section Various Various
26163 @item gnus-home-directory
26164 @vindex gnus-home-directory
26165 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
26166 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
26168 @item gnus-directory
26169 @vindex gnus-directory
26170 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
26171 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
26172 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
26174 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
26175 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
26176 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
26177 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
26179 @item gnus-default-directory
26180 @vindex gnus-default-directory
26181 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
26182 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
26183 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
26184 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
26185 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
26186 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
26189 @vindex gnus-verbose
26190 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
26191 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
26192 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
26193 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
26194 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
26196 @item gnus-verbose-backends
26197 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
26198 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
26199 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
26201 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26202 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26203 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
26204 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
26205 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
26206 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
26207 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
26208 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
26209 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
26210 displayed in the echo area.
26212 @item nnheader-max-head-length
26213 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
26214 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
26215 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
26216 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
26217 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
26218 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
26219 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
26220 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
26221 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
26223 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
26224 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
26225 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
26226 read when doing the operation described above.
26228 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26229 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26231 @cindex invalid characters in file names
26232 @cindex characters in file names
26233 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
26234 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
26235 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
26239 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26244 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
26245 Windows (phooey) systems.
26247 @item gnus-hidden-properties
26248 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
26249 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
26250 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
26251 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
26253 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
26254 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
26255 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
26256 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
26257 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
26259 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
26260 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
26261 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
26263 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26264 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26266 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
26267 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
26268 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
26269 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
26272 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
26274 @item gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26275 @vindex gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26276 Groups in which links in html articles are considered all safe. The
26277 value may be a regexp matching those groups, a list of group names, or
26278 @code{nil}. This overrides @code{mm-w3m-safe-url-regexp}. The default
26279 value is @code{"\\`nnrss[+:]"}. This is effective only when emacs-w3m
26280 renders html articles, i.e., in the case @code{mm-text-html-renderer} is
26281 set to @code{w3m}. @xref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization,
26282 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}.
26289 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
26290 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
26292 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
26294 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
26300 Not because of victories @*
26303 but for the common sunshine,@*
26305 the largess of the spring.
26309 but for the day's work done@*
26310 as well as I was able;@*
26311 not for a seat upon the dais@*
26312 but at the common table.@*
26317 @chapter Appendices
26320 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
26321 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
26322 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
26323 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
26324 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
26325 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
26326 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
26327 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
26328 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
26335 @cindex installing under XEmacs
26337 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
26338 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
26339 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
26340 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
26341 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
26342 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
26349 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
26350 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
26352 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
26353 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
26354 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
26355 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
26356 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
26358 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
26359 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
26360 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
26361 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
26362 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
26363 appropriate name, don't you think?)
26365 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
26366 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
26367 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
26368 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
26371 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
26372 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
26373 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
26374 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
26375 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
26376 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
26377 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
26378 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
26382 @node Gnus Versions
26383 @subsection Gnus Versions
26385 @cindex September Gnus
26387 @cindex Quassia Gnus
26388 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
26391 @cindex Gnus versions
26393 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
26394 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
26395 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
26397 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
26398 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
26400 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
26401 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
26403 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
26404 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
26406 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
26407 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
26410 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
26411 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
26413 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
26415 On April 19, 2010 Gnus development was moved to Git. See
26416 http://git.gnus.org for details (http://www.gnus.org will be updated
26417 with the information when possible).
26419 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
26420 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
26421 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
26422 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
26423 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
26424 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
26430 What's the point of Gnus?
26432 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
26433 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
26434 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
26435 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
26436 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
26437 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
26438 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
26439 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
26440 keep track of millions of people who post?
26442 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
26443 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
26444 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
26445 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
26446 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
26447 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
26448 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
26449 every one of you to explore and invent.
26451 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
26452 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
26455 @node Compatibility
26456 @subsection Compatibility
26458 @cindex compatibility
26459 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
26460 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
26461 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
26466 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
26470 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
26473 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
26476 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
26477 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
26478 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
26479 important variables have their values copied into their global
26480 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
26481 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
26483 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
26484 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
26485 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
26486 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
26487 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
26491 @cindex highlighting
26492 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
26493 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
26494 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
26495 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
26496 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
26497 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
26500 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
26501 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
26502 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
26503 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
26505 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
26506 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
26507 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
26508 to stop doing it the old way.
26510 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
26512 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26514 @cindex reporting bugs
26516 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
26517 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
26518 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
26520 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
26521 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
26522 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
26523 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
26528 @subsection Conformity
26530 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
26531 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
26539 There are no known breaches of this standard.
26543 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
26545 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
26546 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
26547 We do have some breaches to this one.
26553 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
26554 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
26555 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
26556 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
26557 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
26562 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
26563 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
26564 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
26565 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
26567 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
26568 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
26569 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
26571 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
26572 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
26574 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
26577 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
26578 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
26579 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
26580 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
26581 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26584 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
26585 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26586 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26587 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26589 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
26590 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26592 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26593 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26594 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26595 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26596 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26597 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26598 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26599 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26603 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26604 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26609 @subsection Emacsen
26615 This version of Gnus should work on:
26623 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26627 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26628 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26629 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26630 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26632 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
26635 @node Gnus Development
26636 @subsection Gnus Development
26638 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26639 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
26640 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26641 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26642 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26643 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26644 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26645 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
26647 After futzing around for 10-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26648 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26649 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
26650 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26651 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
26652 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
26653 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
26657 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26658 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26659 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26660 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26661 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26663 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26664 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26665 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26666 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26667 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26668 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26669 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26670 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26671 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26672 can't be assumed to do so.
26674 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
26675 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
26676 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
26679 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26680 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26681 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26682 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26683 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26686 @subsection Contributors
26687 @cindex contributors
26689 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26690 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26691 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26692 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26693 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26694 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26695 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26696 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26697 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26698 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26700 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26706 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26709 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el,
26710 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26711 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26712 functionality and stuff.
26715 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26716 well as numerous other things).
26719 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26722 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26725 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26728 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26731 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26732 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26735 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26738 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26741 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26744 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26747 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bug detection and fixes.
26750 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26753 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26754 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26757 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26760 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26763 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26766 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26770 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26773 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26776 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26779 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26780 well as autoconf support.
26784 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26785 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26787 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26802 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26804 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26808 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26818 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26833 Massimo Campostrini,
26838 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26839 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26843 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26846 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26852 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26857 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26861 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26869 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26871 Michelangelo Grigni,
26875 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26877 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26879 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26887 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26888 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26889 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26891 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26901 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26902 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26904 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26905 Thor Kristoffersen,
26908 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26926 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26927 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26934 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26939 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26943 John McClary Prevost,
26949 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26954 Christian von Roques,
26957 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26964 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26966 Randal L. Schwartz,
26980 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26985 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
27005 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
27006 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
27007 (550kB and counting).
27009 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
27012 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
27013 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
27017 @subsection New Features
27018 @cindex new features
27021 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
27022 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
27023 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
27024 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
27025 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
27026 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
27027 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
27030 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
27031 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
27032 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
27035 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
27037 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
27042 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
27043 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
27046 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
27047 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
27050 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
27053 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
27054 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
27055 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
27058 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
27059 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
27060 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
27061 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27064 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
27065 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27068 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
27069 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
27070 (@pxref{The Active File}).
27073 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
27074 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
27077 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
27078 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
27079 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27082 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
27083 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
27084 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
27087 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
27088 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
27091 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
27092 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
27095 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
27096 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27099 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
27100 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
27103 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
27104 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27107 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
27110 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
27111 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
27114 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
27115 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
27118 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
27119 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
27122 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
27125 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
27126 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27129 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
27133 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
27137 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
27138 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
27143 @node September Gnus
27144 @subsubsection September Gnus
27148 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
27152 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
27157 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
27158 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
27162 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
27163 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
27167 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
27171 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
27172 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
27175 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
27179 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
27182 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
27185 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
27188 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
27192 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
27193 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
27196 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
27200 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
27204 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
27208 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
27212 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
27215 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
27216 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
27219 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
27223 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
27224 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
27227 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
27230 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
27231 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
27232 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27235 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets.
27238 The Gnus cache is much faster.
27241 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
27245 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
27246 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
27249 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
27250 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
27253 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
27254 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
27257 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
27258 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
27259 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
27262 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
27263 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
27266 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
27269 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27272 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
27275 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
27278 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
27279 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
27282 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
27286 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
27289 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
27294 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27297 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
27301 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
27304 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
27307 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
27308 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27311 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
27312 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
27316 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
27317 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
27320 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
27324 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
27325 buffer to allow easier treatment.
27328 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
27331 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
27335 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
27339 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
27340 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
27343 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
27347 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
27348 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27351 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
27352 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27355 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
27359 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27362 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
27365 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
27371 @subsubsection Red Gnus
27373 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
27377 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
27384 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
27387 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
27388 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27391 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
27392 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
27396 Article washing status can be displayed in the
27397 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
27400 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
27403 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
27404 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
27407 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
27411 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
27412 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
27416 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extensible (@pxref{Document
27417 Server Internals}).
27420 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
27424 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
27427 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
27428 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
27431 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
27432 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
27433 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
27436 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
27437 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27440 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
27441 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
27444 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
27448 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
27449 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27452 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
27453 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27456 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
27460 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
27463 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
27467 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
27468 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27471 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
27472 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27475 A new command for reading collections of documents
27476 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
27477 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
27480 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
27484 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
27485 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
27488 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
27489 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
27490 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
27493 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
27494 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
27498 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
27502 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
27506 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
27511 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
27515 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
27519 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
27520 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
27523 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
27529 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
27531 New features in Gnus 5.6:
27536 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
27537 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
27538 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
27541 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
27542 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
27543 group, which is created automatically.
27546 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
27550 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
27553 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
27554 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
27557 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
27561 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
27564 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
27565 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
27568 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
27571 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
27575 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27576 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27579 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27580 control over simplification.
27583 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27586 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27590 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27593 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27596 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27597 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27598 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27601 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27602 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27605 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27609 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27610 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27613 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27614 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27617 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27621 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27624 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27627 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27628 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27631 A new function for citing in Message has been
27632 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27635 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27638 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27642 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27643 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27646 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27647 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27650 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27653 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27657 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27658 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27660 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27665 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27666 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27668 If you used procmail like in
27671 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27672 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27673 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27674 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27677 this now has changed to
27681 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27685 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27688 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27689 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27692 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27693 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27696 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27697 called to position point.
27700 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27701 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27704 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27705 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27708 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27709 subtly different manner.
27712 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27713 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27714 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27717 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27722 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27725 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27729 @item Installation changes
27730 @c ***********************
27734 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27736 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27737 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27738 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27739 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27740 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27741 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27742 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27743 isn't save in general.
27746 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27747 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27748 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27749 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27750 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27751 remove-installed-shadows}.
27754 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27756 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27757 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27758 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
27759 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27760 the second parameter.
27762 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27763 automatic recognition of XEmacs and Emacs, generates
27764 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27765 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27766 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27767 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27768 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27769 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27770 cycle used under Unix systems.
27772 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27773 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27776 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27778 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27779 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27782 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27783 @c the repository. We should find a better place for this item.
27785 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27787 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27788 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27789 lisp directory into load-path.
27791 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27792 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27796 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27797 @c *****************************************
27802 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27803 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27806 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27808 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27809 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GnuTLS.
27812 Improved anti-spam features.
27814 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27815 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27816 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27817 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27818 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27819 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27822 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27824 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27825 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27826 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27827 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27828 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27832 @item Changes in group mode
27833 @c ************************
27838 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27842 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27844 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27845 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27848 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27850 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27851 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27852 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27853 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27854 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27857 (setq gnus-parameters
27859 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27860 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27861 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27862 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27866 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27868 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27869 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27870 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27871 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27872 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27873 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27874 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27875 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27876 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27879 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27881 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27882 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27883 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27886 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27887 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27889 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27890 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27891 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27893 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27897 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
27898 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
27899 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
27903 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27904 @c **************************************
27909 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27910 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27911 region if the region is active.
27914 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27915 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27920 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27921 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27922 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27923 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27926 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27931 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27932 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27934 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27935 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27939 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27940 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27943 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27946 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27947 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27950 Warn about email replies to news
27952 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27953 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27957 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27958 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27962 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27963 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27966 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27967 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27970 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27971 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27974 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27976 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27977 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27978 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27979 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27982 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27983 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27984 Outlook (Express) articles.
27987 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27989 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27990 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27991 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27992 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27994 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27995 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27996 message cited below.
27999 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
28002 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
28006 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
28009 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
28010 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
28013 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
28016 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
28018 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
28019 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
28020 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
28021 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
28022 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
28026 Deleting of attachments.
28028 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
28029 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
28030 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
28031 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
28032 that support editing.
28035 @code{gnus-default-charset}
28037 The default value is determined from the
28038 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
28039 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
28040 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
28043 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
28045 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
28046 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
28047 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
28050 Extended format specs.
28052 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
28053 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
28054 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
28055 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
28056 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
28057 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
28060 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
28061 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
28063 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
28064 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
28065 out other articles.
28068 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
28070 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
28071 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
28072 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
28073 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
28076 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
28080 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
28081 @c ****************************************************
28088 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
28089 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
28090 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
28093 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
28094 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
28097 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
28098 Gcc articles as read.
28101 Externalizing of attachments
28103 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
28104 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
28105 local files as external parts.
28108 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
28109 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
28112 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
28114 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
28115 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
28116 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
28117 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
28118 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
28119 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
28120 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
28121 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
28122 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
28125 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
28127 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
28128 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
28129 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
28130 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
28131 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
28132 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
28135 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
28136 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
28140 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
28143 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
28145 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
28146 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
28147 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
28148 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
28149 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
28150 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
28151 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
28152 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
28153 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
28154 was inserted directly.
28157 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
28159 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
28160 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
28161 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
28162 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
28163 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
28166 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
28168 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
28170 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
28171 'bbdb-complete-name)
28175 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
28177 Add a new format of match like
28179 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
28180 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28182 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
28184 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
28185 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28189 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
28191 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
28192 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
28193 need add those two headers too.
28196 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
28197 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
28198 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
28202 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
28203 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
28204 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
28205 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
28206 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
28209 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
28211 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
28214 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
28216 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
28220 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
28222 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
28223 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
28224 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
28225 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
28226 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
28227 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
28228 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
28229 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
28232 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
28233 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
28235 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
28236 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
28237 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
28238 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
28241 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
28244 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
28245 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
28248 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
28251 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
28252 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
28253 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
28254 invalidate the digital signature.
28257 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
28258 decompressed when activated.
28259 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
28262 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
28264 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
28265 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
28266 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
28267 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
28268 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
28271 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
28272 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
28273 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
28274 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
28276 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
28277 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
28278 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
28279 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
28283 @item Changes in back ends
28284 @c ***********************
28288 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
28291 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
28294 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
28296 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
28299 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
28301 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
28302 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
28303 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
28304 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
28305 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
28306 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
28307 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
28308 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
28309 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
28310 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
28311 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
28321 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
28322 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
28325 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
28326 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
28327 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
28328 message, Message Manual}).
28331 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
28332 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
28333 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
28334 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
28336 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
28337 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
28338 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
28343 @item Miscellaneous changes
28344 @c ************************
28351 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
28352 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
28353 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
28354 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
28355 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
28356 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
28357 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
28358 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
28359 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
28360 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
28361 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
28362 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
28363 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
28364 is not needed any more.
28367 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
28369 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
28370 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
28371 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
28376 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
28377 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
28378 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
28382 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
28385 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
28387 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
28394 @subsubsection No Gnus
28397 New features in No Gnus:
28398 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
28400 @include gnus-news.texi
28406 @section The Manual
28410 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
28411 either @code{texi2dvi}
28413 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
28414 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
28416 to get what you hold in your hands now.
28418 The following conventions have been used:
28423 This is a @samp{string}
28426 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
28429 This is a @file{file}
28432 This is a @code{symbol}
28436 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
28440 (setq flargnoze "yes")
28443 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
28446 (setq flumphel 'yes)
28449 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
28450 ever get them confused.
28454 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
28455 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
28456 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
28457 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
28458 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
28459 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
28460 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
28466 @node On Writing Manuals
28467 @section On Writing Manuals
28469 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
28470 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
28471 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
28472 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
28473 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
28474 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
28477 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
28478 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
28479 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
28482 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
28483 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
28488 @section Terminology
28490 @cindex terminology
28495 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
28496 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
28497 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
28498 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
28499 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
28503 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
28504 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
28505 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
28506 not posting, and replying is not following up.
28510 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
28514 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
28519 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
28520 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
28521 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
28522 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
28523 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
28524 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
28525 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
28526 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
28527 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
28530 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
28531 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
28532 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
28533 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
28534 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
28535 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
28537 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
28538 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
28539 access the articles.
28541 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
28542 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
28543 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
28548 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
28549 default, way of getting news. Groups from the native select method
28550 have names like @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}.
28554 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same
28555 time. These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends
28556 for getting news. Foreign groups have names like
28557 @samp{nntp+news.gmane.org:gmane.emacs.gnus.devel}.
28561 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and
28562 being foreign, but they mostly act like they are native, but they, too
28563 have names like @samp{nntp+news.gmane.org:gmane.emacs.gnus.devel}.
28567 A message that has been posted as news.
28570 @cindex mail message
28571 A message that has been mailed.
28575 A mail message or news article
28579 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
28584 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28589 A line from the head of an article.
28593 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28594 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28596 @item @acronym{NOV}
28597 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28598 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
28599 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
28600 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
28601 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
28602 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
28604 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28605 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28606 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28607 normal @sc{head} format.
28609 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
28610 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
28611 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
28612 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
28613 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
28616 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
28617 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
28618 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
28619 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
28620 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
28621 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
28622 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
28626 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
28627 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28628 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
28629 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28630 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28631 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28633 @item killed groups
28634 @cindex killed groups
28635 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28636 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28638 @item zombie groups
28639 @cindex zombie groups
28640 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28643 @cindex active file
28644 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28645 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28646 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28649 @cindex bogus groups
28650 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28651 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28652 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28655 @cindex activating groups
28656 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28657 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28658 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28662 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28663 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28664 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28668 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28670 @item select method
28671 @cindex select method
28672 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28675 @item virtual server
28676 @cindex virtual server
28677 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28678 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28679 whole is a virtual server.
28683 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28684 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28687 @item ephemeral groups
28688 @cindex ephemeral groups
28689 @cindex temporary groups
28690 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28691 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28692 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28695 @cindex solid groups
28696 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28697 group buffer are solid groups.
28699 @item sparse articles
28700 @cindex sparse articles
28701 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28702 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28706 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28707 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28711 @cindex thread root
28712 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28713 articles in the thread.
28717 An article that has responses.
28721 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28725 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28726 specified by RFC 1153.
28729 @cindex splitting, terminology
28730 @cindex mail sorting
28731 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28732 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28733 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28739 @node Customization
28740 @section Customization
28741 @cindex general customization
28743 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28744 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28745 for some quite common situations.
28748 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28749 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28750 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28751 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28755 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28756 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
28758 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28759 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28760 Gnus has to get from the server.
28764 @item gnus-read-active-file
28765 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28766 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28767 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28768 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28769 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28771 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28772 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
28773 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
28774 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
28775 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
28776 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
28777 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
28778 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
28779 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
28780 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
28781 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
28783 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
28784 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
28785 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
28786 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, and @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}. Note that a
28787 non-@code{nil} value for @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those
28792 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28793 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28795 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28796 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28797 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28801 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28802 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28803 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28804 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28805 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28807 @item gnus-visible-headers
28808 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28809 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28810 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28811 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28813 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28815 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28816 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28817 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28820 @item gnus-use-full-window
28821 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28822 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28823 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28824 want to read them anyway.
28826 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28827 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28831 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28832 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28833 lines, which might save some time.
28837 @node Little Disk Space
28838 @subsection Little Disk Space
28841 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28842 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28846 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28847 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28848 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28849 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28852 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28853 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28854 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28855 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28858 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28859 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28860 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28861 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28862 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28868 @subsection Slow Machine
28869 @cindex slow machine
28871 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28872 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28874 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28875 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28877 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28878 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28879 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
28883 @node Troubleshooting
28884 @section Troubleshooting
28885 @cindex troubleshooting
28887 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28895 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28898 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28899 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28903 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28905 @samp{No Gnus v0.18} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
28907 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
28908 files lying around. Delete these.
28911 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28912 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28915 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28916 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28917 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28918 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28919 something like that.
28922 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28925 @cindex reporting bugs
28927 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28929 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28930 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28931 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28932 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28934 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28935 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28936 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28937 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28940 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28941 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28942 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28943 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28944 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28945 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28947 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28948 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28949 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28953 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28954 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28957 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28958 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28959 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28960 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28961 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28962 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28963 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28964 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28965 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28966 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28967 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28968 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28969 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28970 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28975 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28976 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28977 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28978 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28979 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28981 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28982 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28983 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28984 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28985 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28986 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28987 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28988 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28989 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28990 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28991 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28992 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28993 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28996 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28997 @cindex ding mailing list
28998 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28999 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
29000 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
29001 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
29005 @node Gnus Reference Guide
29006 @section Gnus Reference Guide
29008 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
29009 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
29010 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
29011 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
29014 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
29015 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
29016 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
29017 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
29018 and general methods of operation.
29021 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
29022 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
29023 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
29024 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
29025 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
29026 * Group Info:: The group info format.
29027 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
29028 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
29029 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
29033 @node Gnus Utility Functions
29034 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
29035 @cindex Gnus utility functions
29036 @cindex utility functions
29038 @cindex internal variables
29040 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
29041 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
29042 Below is a list of the most common ones.
29046 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
29047 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
29048 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
29050 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
29051 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
29052 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
29054 @item gnus-group-real-name
29055 @findex gnus-group-real-name
29056 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
29059 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
29060 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
29061 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
29062 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
29064 @item gnus-get-info
29065 @findex gnus-get-info
29066 Returns the group info list for @var{group} (@pxref{Group Info}).
29068 @item gnus-group-unread
29069 @findex gnus-group-unread
29070 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
29074 @findex gnus-active
29075 The active entry (i.e., a cons cell containing the lowest and highest
29076 article numbers) for @var{group}.
29078 @item gnus-set-active
29079 @findex gnus-set-active
29080 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
29082 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29083 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29084 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
29087 @item gnus-continuum-version
29088 @findex gnus-continuum-version
29089 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
29090 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
29093 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
29094 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
29095 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
29097 @item gnus-news-group-p
29098 @findex gnus-news-group-p
29099 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
29101 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29102 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29103 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
29105 @item gnus-server-to-method
29106 @findex gnus-server-to-method
29107 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
29109 @item gnus-server-equal
29110 @findex gnus-server-equal
29111 Says whether two virtual servers are essentially equal. For instance,
29112 two virtual servers may have server parameters in different order, but
29113 this function will consider them equal.
29115 @item gnus-group-native-p
29116 @findex gnus-group-native-p
29117 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
29119 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
29120 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
29121 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
29123 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
29124 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
29125 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
29127 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
29128 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
29129 Returns the parameter list of @var{group} (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
29130 If given a second parameter, returns the value of that parameter for
29133 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
29134 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
29135 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
29137 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
29138 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
29139 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
29141 @item gnus-check-backend-function
29142 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
29143 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
29144 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
29147 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
29151 @item gnus-read-method
29152 @findex gnus-read-method
29153 Prompts the user for a select method.
29158 @node Back End Interface
29159 @subsection Back End Interface
29161 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
29162 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
29163 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
29164 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
29165 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
29166 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
29168 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
29169 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
29170 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
29171 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
29172 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
29173 been opened, the function should fail.
29175 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
29176 name. Take this example:
29180 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
29181 (nntp-port-number 4324))
29184 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
29185 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
29187 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
29188 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
29189 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
29191 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
29192 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
29193 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
29195 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
29196 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
29197 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
29198 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
29199 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
29200 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
29203 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
29204 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
29205 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
29206 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
29209 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
29210 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
29211 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
29212 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
29213 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
29214 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
29215 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
29216 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
29217 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
29218 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
29220 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
29221 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
29222 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
29223 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
29224 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
29225 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
29226 of numbers as long as possible.
29228 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
29229 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
29230 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
29232 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
29235 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
29238 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
29239 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
29240 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
29241 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
29242 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
29243 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
29247 @node Required Back End Functions
29248 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
29252 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
29254 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
29255 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
29256 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
29257 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
29259 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
29260 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
29261 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
29262 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
29264 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
29265 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
29266 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
29267 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
29268 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
29269 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
29270 number, do maximum fetches.
29272 Here's an example HEAD:
29275 221 1056 Article retrieved.
29276 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
29277 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
29278 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
29279 Subject: Re: Something very droll
29280 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
29281 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
29283 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
29284 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
29285 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
29289 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
29290 these in the data buffer.
29292 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
29296 head = error / valid-head
29297 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
29298 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
29299 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
29300 header = <text> eol
29304 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
29306 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
29307 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
29311 nov-buffer = *nov-line
29312 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
29313 field = <text except TAB>
29316 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
29320 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
29322 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
29323 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
29325 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
29326 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
29327 server. In fact, it should do so.
29329 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
29330 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
29333 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
29335 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
29336 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
29339 There should be no data returned.
29342 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
29344 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
29345 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
29346 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
29347 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
29349 There should be no data returned.
29352 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
29354 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
29355 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
29356 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
29357 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
29359 There should be no data returned.
29362 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
29364 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
29366 There should be no data returned.
29369 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
29371 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
29372 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
29373 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
29374 it would be nice if that were possible.
29376 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
29377 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
29378 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
29379 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
29380 into its article buffer.
29382 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
29383 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
29384 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
29385 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
29386 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
29387 on successful article retrieval.
29390 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST INFO)
29392 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
29393 making @var{group} the current group.
29395 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
29398 If @var{info}, it allows the backend to update the group info
29401 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
29404 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
29407 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
29408 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
29409 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
29410 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
29411 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
29412 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
29413 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
29414 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
29415 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
29419 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
29420 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
29421 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
29425 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29427 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
29428 a no-op on most back ends.
29430 There should be no data returned.
29433 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
29435 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
29438 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
29441 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
29442 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
29445 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
29446 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
29447 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
29448 and the highest as 0.
29451 active-file = *active-line
29452 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
29454 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
29457 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
29458 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
29459 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
29462 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
29464 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
29465 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
29466 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
29467 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
29468 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
29469 clear if the posting could not be completed.
29471 There should be no result data from this function.
29476 @node Optional Back End Functions
29477 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
29481 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
29483 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
29484 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
29485 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
29487 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
29488 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
29489 former is in the same format as the data from
29490 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
29491 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
29494 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
29498 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
29500 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
29501 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
29502 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
29503 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
29504 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
29505 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
29506 the network resources).
29508 There should be no result data from this function.
29511 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
29513 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
29514 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
29515 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
29516 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
29517 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
29518 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
29519 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
29520 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
29522 There should be no result data from this function.
29525 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
29527 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
29528 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
29529 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
29530 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
29531 propagate the mark information to the server.
29533 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
29536 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
29539 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
29540 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
29541 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
29542 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
29543 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
29544 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend}, and
29545 @code{forward}, but your back end should, if possible, not limit
29548 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
29549 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
29550 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
29551 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
29553 An example action list:
29556 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
29557 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
29558 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
29561 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
29562 mark on (currently not used for anything).
29564 There should be no result data from this function.
29566 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
29568 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
29569 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
29570 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
29571 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
29572 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
29574 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
29575 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
29576 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
29579 There should be no result data from this function.
29582 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
29584 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
29585 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
29586 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
29587 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
29588 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
29589 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
29590 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
29591 local if that's practical.
29593 There should be no result data from this function.
29596 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
29598 The result data from this function should be a description of
29602 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
29604 description = <text>
29607 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
29609 The result data from this function should be the description of all
29610 groups available on the server.
29613 description-buffer = *description-line
29617 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
29619 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
29620 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
29621 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
29622 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
29623 in the active buffer format.
29625 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
29626 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
29627 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
29628 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
29629 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29630 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29631 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29634 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29636 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29638 There should be no return data.
29641 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29643 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29644 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29645 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29646 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29647 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29650 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29653 There should be no result data returned.
29656 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29658 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29659 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29661 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29662 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29663 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29664 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29665 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29666 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29668 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29669 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29672 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29673 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29675 There should be no data returned.
29678 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29680 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29681 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29682 this function in short order.
29684 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29685 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29687 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29688 article for that group.
29690 There should be no data returned.
29693 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29695 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29696 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29698 There should be no data returned.
29701 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29703 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29704 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29705 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29707 There should be no data returned.
29710 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29712 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29713 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29715 There should be no data returned.
29720 @node Error Messaging
29721 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29723 @findex nnheader-report
29724 @findex nnheader-get-report
29725 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29726 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29727 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29728 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29729 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29730 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29733 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29735 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29738 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29739 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29740 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29741 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29743 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29744 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29745 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29748 @node Writing New Back Ends
29749 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29751 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29752 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29753 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29754 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29755 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29758 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29759 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29760 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29762 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29763 package called @code{nnoo}.
29765 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29766 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29772 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29773 parameters. For instance:
29776 (nnoo-declare nndir
29780 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29781 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29784 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29785 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29786 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29788 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29789 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29790 a function in those back ends.
29793 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29794 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29795 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29798 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29799 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29800 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29802 @item nnoo-define-basics
29803 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29807 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29811 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29812 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29813 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29815 @item nnoo-map-functions
29816 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29817 functions from the parent back ends.
29820 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29821 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29822 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29825 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29826 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29827 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29828 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29831 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29832 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29833 haven't already been defined.
29839 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29843 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29844 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29845 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29850 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29853 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29854 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29858 (require 'nnheader)
29862 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29864 (nnoo-declare nndir
29867 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29868 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29869 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29871 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29872 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29875 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29877 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29878 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29879 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29881 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29882 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29884 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29886 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29888 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29889 (setq nndir-directory
29890 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29892 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29893 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29894 (push `(nndir-current-group
29895 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29896 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29898 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29899 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29901 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29903 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29904 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29905 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29906 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29907 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29911 nnmh-status-message
29913 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29919 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29920 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29922 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29923 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29924 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29925 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29926 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29928 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29929 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29934 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29937 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29939 The abilities can be:
29943 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29945 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29947 This back end supports both mail and news.
29949 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29952 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29953 articles and groups.
29955 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29956 true for almost all back ends.
29957 @item prompt-address
29958 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29959 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29960 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29964 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29965 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29967 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29968 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29969 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29970 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29973 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29974 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29975 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29978 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29979 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29982 This function takes four parameters.
29986 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29989 @item exit-function
29990 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29992 @item temp-directory
29993 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29996 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29997 performed for one group only.
30000 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
30001 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
30002 find the article number assigned to this article.
30004 The function also uses the following variables:
30005 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
30006 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
30007 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
30008 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
30012 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
30013 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
30017 @node Score File Syntax
30018 @subsection Score File Syntax
30020 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
30021 malleable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
30022 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
30024 Here's a typical score file:
30028 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
30035 BNF definition of a score file:
30038 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
30039 element = rule / atom
30040 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
30041 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
30042 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
30043 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
30045 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
30046 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
30047 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
30048 date-header = "date"
30049 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30050 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30051 score = "nil" / <integer>
30052 date = "nil" / <natural number>
30053 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
30054 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
30055 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
30056 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
30057 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30058 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30059 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
30060 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
30061 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
30062 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
30063 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
30064 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
30065 exclude-files / read-only / touched
30066 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
30067 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
30068 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
30069 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
30070 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
30071 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
30072 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
30073 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
30074 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
30075 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
30076 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
30077 eval = "eval" space <form>
30078 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
30081 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
30084 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
30085 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
30086 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
30087 one looong line, then that's ok.
30089 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
30090 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
30094 @subsection Headers
30096 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
30097 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
30098 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
30099 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
30101 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
30102 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
30103 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
30104 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
30105 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
30106 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
30107 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
30109 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
30110 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
30111 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
30112 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
30113 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
30115 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
30116 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
30122 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
30123 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
30125 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
30126 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
30127 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
30128 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
30130 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
30134 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
30137 is transformed into
30140 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
30143 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
30144 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
30147 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
30150 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
30151 is slightly tricky:
30154 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
30160 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
30163 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
30169 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
30176 and is equal to the previous range.
30178 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
30179 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
30180 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
30184 range = simple-range / normal-range
30185 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
30186 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
30187 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
30188 number *[ " " contents ]
30191 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
30192 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
30193 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
30194 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
30195 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
30200 @subsection Group Info
30202 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
30203 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
30204 describes the group.
30206 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
30207 second is a more complex one:
30210 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
30212 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
30213 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
30215 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
30218 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
30219 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
30220 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
30221 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
30222 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
30223 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
30224 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
30225 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
30226 this section is about.
30228 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
30229 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
30230 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
30232 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
30235 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
30236 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
30237 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30238 group = quote <string> quote
30239 ralevel = rank / level
30240 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30241 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
30242 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30244 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
30245 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
30246 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
30247 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
30250 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
30251 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
30254 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
30255 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
30258 @item gnus-info-group
30259 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
30260 @findex gnus-info-group
30261 @findex gnus-info-set-group
30262 Get/set the group name.
30264 @item gnus-info-rank
30265 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
30266 @findex gnus-info-rank
30267 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
30268 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
30270 @item gnus-info-level
30271 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
30272 @findex gnus-info-level
30273 @findex gnus-info-set-level
30274 Get/set the group level.
30276 @item gnus-info-score
30277 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
30278 @findex gnus-info-score
30279 @findex gnus-info-set-score
30280 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
30282 @item gnus-info-read
30283 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
30284 @findex gnus-info-read
30285 @findex gnus-info-set-read
30286 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
30288 @item gnus-info-marks
30289 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
30290 @findex gnus-info-marks
30291 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
30292 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
30294 @item gnus-info-method
30295 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
30296 @findex gnus-info-method
30297 @findex gnus-info-set-method
30298 Get/set the group select method.
30300 @item gnus-info-params
30301 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
30302 @findex gnus-info-params
30303 @findex gnus-info-set-params
30304 Get/set the group parameters.
30307 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
30308 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
30310 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
30311 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
30312 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
30313 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
30316 @node Extended Interactive
30317 @subsection Extended Interactive
30318 @cindex interactive
30319 @findex gnus-interactive
30321 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
30322 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
30323 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
30326 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
30327 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
30332 The best thing to do would have been to implement
30333 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
30334 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
30335 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
30336 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
30337 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
30338 @code{interactive}.
30340 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
30345 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
30346 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
30350 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
30351 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
30352 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
30355 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
30359 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
30363 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
30369 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
30370 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
30374 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
30375 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
30376 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
30378 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
30379 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
30380 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
30381 Gnus, that's very useful.
30383 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
30384 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
30385 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
30386 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
30387 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
30388 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
30389 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
30390 following function:
30393 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
30397 (,function ,@@args))
30401 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
30402 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
30403 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
30406 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
30407 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
30408 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
30410 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
30411 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
30412 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
30415 @node Various File Formats
30416 @subsection Various File Formats
30419 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
30420 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
30424 @node Active File Format
30425 @subsubsection Active File Format
30427 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
30428 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
30431 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
30434 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
30435 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
30436 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
30437 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
30438 no.general 1000 900 y
30441 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
30444 active = *group-line
30445 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
30446 group = <non-white-space string>
30448 high-number = <non-negative integer>
30449 low-number = <positive integer>
30450 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
30453 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
30454 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
30457 @node Newsgroups File Format
30458 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
30460 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
30461 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
30462 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
30465 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
30466 Here's the definition:
30470 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
30471 group = <non-white-space string>
30473 description = <string>
30478 @node Emacs for Heathens
30479 @section Emacs for Heathens
30481 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
30482 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
30483 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
30484 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
30485 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
30486 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
30487 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
30491 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
30492 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
30497 @subsection Keystrokes
30501 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
30504 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
30507 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
30508 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
30509 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
30510 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
30511 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
30512 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
30514 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
30515 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
30516 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
30517 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
30518 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
30519 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
30520 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
30522 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
30523 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
30524 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
30525 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
30526 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
30527 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
30528 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
30530 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
30531 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
30532 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
30533 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
30534 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
30540 @subsection Emacs Lisp
30542 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
30543 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
30544 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
30545 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
30547 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
30548 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
30549 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
30550 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
30551 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
30552 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
30553 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
30554 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
30555 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
30556 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
30558 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
30559 write the following:
30562 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
30565 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
30566 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
30567 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
30568 change how Gnus works.
30570 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
30571 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
30572 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
30573 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
30574 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
30576 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
30577 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
30578 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
30582 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
30586 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
30589 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server-file} to
30590 @samp{/etc/nntpserver}'', that means:
30593 (setq gnus-nntp-server-file "/etc/nntpserver")
30596 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
30597 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
30600 @include gnus-faq.texi
30602 @node GNU Free Documentation License
30603 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
30604 @include doclicense.texi
30622 @c Local Variables:
30624 @c coding: iso-8859-1