10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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286 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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295 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
297 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
300 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
301 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
302 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
303 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
304 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
305 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
306 License'' in the Emacs manual.
308 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
309 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
310 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
312 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
313 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
314 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
315 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
323 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
325 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003
326 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
328 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
329 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
330 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
331 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
332 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
333 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
334 License'' in the Emacs manual.
336 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
337 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
338 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
340 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
341 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
342 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
343 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
351 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
354 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
357 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
359 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
360 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
361 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
362 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
363 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
364 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
365 License'' in the Emacs manual.
367 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
368 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
369 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
371 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
372 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
373 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
374 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
383 @top The Gnus Newsreader
387 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
388 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
389 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
392 This manual corresponds to Oort Gnus v0.19.
403 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
404 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
406 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
407 being accused of plagiarism:
409 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
410 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
411 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
412 can even read news with it!
414 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
415 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
416 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
417 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
418 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
424 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
425 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
426 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
427 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
428 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
429 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
430 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
431 * Various:: General purpose settings.
432 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
433 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
434 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
435 * Key Index:: Key Index.
437 Other related manuals
439 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
440 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
441 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
442 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
445 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
449 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
450 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
451 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
452 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
453 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
454 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
455 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
456 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
457 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
458 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
459 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
463 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
464 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
465 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
469 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
470 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
471 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
472 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
473 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
474 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
475 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
476 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
477 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
478 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
479 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
480 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
481 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
482 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
483 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
484 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
485 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
489 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
490 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
491 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
495 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
496 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
497 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
498 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
499 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
503 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
504 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
505 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
506 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
507 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
511 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
512 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
513 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
514 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
515 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
516 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
517 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
518 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
519 * Threading:: How threads are made.
520 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
521 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
522 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
523 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
524 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
525 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
526 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
527 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
528 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
529 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
530 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
531 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
532 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
533 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
534 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
535 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
536 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
537 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
538 or reselecting the current group.
539 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
540 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
541 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
542 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
544 Summary Buffer Format
546 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
547 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
548 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
549 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
553 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
554 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
556 Reply, Followup and Post
558 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
559 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
560 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
561 * Canceling and Superseding::
565 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
566 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
567 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
569 * Generic Marking Commands::
570 * Setting Process Marks::
574 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
575 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
576 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
580 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
581 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
583 Customizing Threading
585 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
586 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
587 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
588 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
592 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
593 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
594 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
595 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
596 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
597 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
601 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
602 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
603 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
607 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
608 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
609 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
610 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
611 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
612 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
613 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
614 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
615 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
616 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
617 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
619 Alternative Approaches
621 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
622 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
624 Various Summary Stuff
626 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
627 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
628 * Summary Generation Commands::
629 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
633 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
634 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
635 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
636 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
637 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
641 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
642 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
643 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
644 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
645 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
646 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
647 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
648 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
652 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
653 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
654 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
655 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
656 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
657 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
658 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
659 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
663 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
664 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
665 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
666 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
667 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
668 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
669 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
673 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
674 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
678 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
679 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
680 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
684 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
685 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
686 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
687 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
688 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
689 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
690 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
691 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
692 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
693 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
694 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
695 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
696 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
700 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
701 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
702 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
704 Choosing a Mail Back End
706 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
707 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
708 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
709 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
710 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
711 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
712 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
717 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
718 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
719 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
720 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
721 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
722 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
726 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
727 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
728 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
729 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
730 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
734 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
735 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
736 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
737 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
738 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
742 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
746 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
747 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
748 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
752 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
753 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
757 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
758 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
759 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
760 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
761 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
762 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
763 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
764 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
765 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
766 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
767 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
768 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
772 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
773 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
774 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
778 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
779 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
780 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
784 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
785 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
786 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
787 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
788 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
789 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
790 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
791 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
792 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
793 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
794 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
795 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
796 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
797 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
798 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
799 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
800 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
804 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
805 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
806 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
807 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
811 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
812 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
813 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
817 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
818 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
819 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
820 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
821 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
822 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
823 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
824 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
825 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
826 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
827 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
828 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
829 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
830 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
831 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
832 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
833 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
834 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
835 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
839 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
840 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
841 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
842 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
843 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
844 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
845 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
846 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
850 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
851 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
852 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
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.
861 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
862 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
866 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
867 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
868 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
869 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
870 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
871 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
872 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
873 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
874 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ.
878 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
879 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
880 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
881 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
882 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
883 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
884 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
885 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
886 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
890 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
891 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
892 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
893 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
894 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
895 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
899 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
900 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
901 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
902 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
906 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
907 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
908 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
909 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
910 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
911 * Group Info:: The group info format.
912 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
913 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
914 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
918 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
919 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
920 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
921 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
922 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
923 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
927 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
928 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
932 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
933 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
939 @chapter Starting Gnus
944 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
945 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
948 @findex gnus-other-frame
949 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
950 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
951 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
953 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
954 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
955 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
957 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
958 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
961 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
962 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
963 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
964 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
965 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
966 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
967 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
968 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
969 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
970 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
971 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
975 @node Finding the News
976 @section Finding the News
979 @vindex gnus-select-method
981 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
982 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
983 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
984 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
987 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
988 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
991 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
994 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
997 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1000 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1001 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1002 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1004 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1006 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1007 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1008 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1009 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1010 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1011 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1012 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1014 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1015 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1016 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1017 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1019 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1020 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1021 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1022 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1023 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1024 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1025 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1026 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1027 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1030 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1032 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1033 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1034 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1035 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1036 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1037 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1039 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1041 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1042 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1043 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1044 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1045 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1046 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1049 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1050 you would typically set this variable to
1053 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1057 @node The First Time
1058 @section The First Time
1059 @cindex first time usage
1061 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1062 be subscribed by default.
1064 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1065 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1066 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1067 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1070 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1071 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1072 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1074 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1075 help you with most common problems.
1077 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1078 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1082 @node The Server is Down
1083 @section The Server is Down
1084 @cindex server errors
1086 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1087 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1088 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1090 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1091 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1092 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1093 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1094 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1095 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1096 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1098 @findex gnus-no-server
1099 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1101 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1102 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1103 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1104 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1105 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1106 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1107 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1111 @section Slave Gnusae
1114 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1115 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1116 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1117 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1119 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1120 @file{.newsrc} file.
1122 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1123 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1124 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1125 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1126 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1127 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1128 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1131 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1132 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1133 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1134 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1135 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1136 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1137 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1138 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1140 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1141 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1143 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1144 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1145 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1146 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1147 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1149 @node Fetching a Group
1150 @section Fetching a Group
1151 @cindex fetching a group
1153 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1154 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1155 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1156 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1157 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1158 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1164 @cindex subscription
1166 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1167 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1168 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1169 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1170 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1171 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1172 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1173 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1174 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1177 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1178 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1179 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1183 @node Checking New Groups
1184 @subsection Checking New Groups
1186 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1187 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1188 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1189 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1190 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1191 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1192 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1193 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1194 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1195 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1197 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1198 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1199 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1200 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1201 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1202 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1203 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1204 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1205 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1206 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1207 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1209 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1210 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1211 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1212 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1213 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1214 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1217 @node Subscription Methods
1218 @subsection Subscription Methods
1220 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1221 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1222 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1224 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1225 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1227 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1233 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1234 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1235 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1239 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1240 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1242 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1243 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1244 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1246 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1247 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1248 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1249 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1250 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1251 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1252 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1253 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1254 up. Or something like that.
1256 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1257 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1258 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1259 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1260 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1262 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1263 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1264 Kill all new groups.
1266 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1267 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1268 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1269 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1270 topic parameter that looks like
1276 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1279 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1284 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1285 A closely related variable is
1286 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1287 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1288 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1289 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1292 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1293 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1294 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1295 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1298 @node Filtering New Groups
1299 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1301 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1302 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1303 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1306 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1309 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1310 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1311 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1312 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1313 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1314 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1315 subscribing these groups.
1316 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1317 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1319 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1320 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1321 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1322 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1323 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1324 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1325 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1326 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1328 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1329 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1330 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1331 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1332 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1333 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1334 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1335 that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1336 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1337 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1340 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1341 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1344 @node Changing Servers
1345 @section Changing Servers
1346 @cindex changing servers
1348 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1349 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1350 very flaky and you want to use another.
1352 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1353 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1357 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1358 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1359 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1360 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1363 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1364 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1365 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1366 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1368 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1369 @findex gnus-change-server
1370 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1371 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1372 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1373 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1374 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1376 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1377 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1378 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1379 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1380 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1382 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1383 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1384 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1385 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1386 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1387 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1389 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1390 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1391 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1392 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1394 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1395 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1396 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1397 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1398 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1399 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1400 cache for all groups).
1404 @section Startup Files
1405 @cindex startup files
1410 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1411 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1413 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1414 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1415 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1416 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1417 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1418 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1419 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1421 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1422 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1423 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1424 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1425 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1426 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1428 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1429 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1430 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1431 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1432 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1433 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1434 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1435 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1436 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1437 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1439 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1440 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1441 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1442 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1443 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1444 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1445 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1446 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1447 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1448 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1449 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1450 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1452 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1453 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1454 @vindex version-control
1455 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1456 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1457 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1458 If you want version control for this file, set
1459 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1460 @code{version-control} variable.
1462 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1463 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1464 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1465 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1466 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1467 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1468 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1469 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1470 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1471 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1474 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1475 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1477 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1478 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1481 @vindex gnus-init-file
1482 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1483 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1484 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1485 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1486 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1487 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1488 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1489 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1490 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1491 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1497 @cindex dribble file
1500 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1501 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1502 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1503 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1504 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1507 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1508 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1511 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1512 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1513 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1515 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1516 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1517 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1518 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1519 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1520 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1522 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1523 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1524 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1527 @node The Active File
1528 @section The Active File
1530 @cindex ignored groups
1532 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1533 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1534 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1536 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1537 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1538 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1539 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1540 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1541 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1542 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1545 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1546 @c if you set it to anything else.
1548 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1550 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1551 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1552 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1554 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1555 you actually subscribe to.
1557 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1558 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1559 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1560 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1562 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1563 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1564 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1565 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1566 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1567 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1569 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1570 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1571 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1574 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1575 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1576 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1577 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1578 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1579 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1581 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1582 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1584 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1585 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1587 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1588 secondary select methods.
1591 @node Startup Variables
1592 @section Startup Variables
1596 @item gnus-load-hook
1597 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1598 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1599 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1600 times you start Gnus.
1602 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1603 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1604 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1606 @item gnus-startup-hook
1607 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1608 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1610 @item gnus-started-hook
1611 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1612 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1615 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1616 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1617 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1618 generating the group buffer.
1620 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1621 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1622 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1623 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1624 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1625 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1626 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1627 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1629 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1630 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1631 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1632 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1633 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1634 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1636 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1637 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1638 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1640 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1641 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1642 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1644 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1645 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1646 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1647 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1653 @chapter Group Buffer
1654 @cindex group buffer
1656 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1658 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1659 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1660 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1661 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1662 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1663 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1664 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1665 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1666 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1667 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1668 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1669 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1670 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1671 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1672 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1673 @c human rights at 9...
1676 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1677 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1678 long as Gnus is active.
1682 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1683 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1684 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1685 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1686 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1687 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1688 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1689 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1695 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1696 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1697 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1698 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1699 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1700 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1701 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1702 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1703 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1704 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1705 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1706 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1707 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1708 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1709 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1710 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1711 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1715 @node Group Buffer Format
1716 @section Group Buffer Format
1719 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1720 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1721 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1725 @node Group Line Specification
1726 @subsection Group Line Specification
1727 @cindex group buffer format
1729 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1730 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1732 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1735 25: news.announce.newusers
1736 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1741 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1742 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1743 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1744 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1746 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1747 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1748 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1749 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1750 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1751 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1753 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1755 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1756 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1757 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1758 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1759 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1761 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1762 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1763 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1765 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1770 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1773 Whether the group is subscribed.
1776 Level of subscribedness.
1779 Number of unread articles.
1782 Number of dormant articles.
1785 Number of ticked articles.
1788 Number of read articles.
1791 Number of unseen articles.
1794 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1795 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1797 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1798 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1799 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1800 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1801 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1802 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1803 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1804 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1807 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1810 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1819 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1820 comment element in the group parameters.
1823 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1824 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1825 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1829 @samp{m} if moderated.
1832 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1838 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1844 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1848 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1851 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1852 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1853 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1854 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1855 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1858 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1860 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1864 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1867 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1871 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1872 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1873 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1874 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1875 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1876 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1881 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1882 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1883 group, or a bogus native group.
1886 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1887 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1888 @cindex group mode line
1890 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1891 The mode line can be changed by setting
1892 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1893 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1897 The native news server.
1899 The native select method.
1903 @node Group Highlighting
1904 @subsection Group Highlighting
1905 @cindex highlighting
1906 @cindex group highlighting
1908 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1909 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1910 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1911 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1912 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1914 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1918 (cond (window-system
1919 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1920 (defface my-group-face-1
1921 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1922 (defface my-group-face-2
1923 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1924 "Second group face")
1925 (defface my-group-face-3
1926 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1927 (defface my-group-face-4
1928 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1929 (defface my-group-face-5
1930 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1932 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1933 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1934 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1935 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1936 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1937 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1940 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1942 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1949 The number of unread articles in the group.
1953 Whether the group is a mail group.
1955 The level of the group.
1957 The score of the group.
1959 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1961 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1962 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1964 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1965 topic being inserted.
1968 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1969 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1970 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1972 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1973 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1974 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1975 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1976 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1979 @node Group Maneuvering
1980 @section Group Maneuvering
1981 @cindex group movement
1983 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1984 expected, hopefully.
1990 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1991 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1992 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1998 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1999 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2000 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2004 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2005 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2009 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2010 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2014 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2015 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2016 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2020 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2021 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2022 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2025 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2031 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2032 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2033 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2038 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2039 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2040 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2044 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2045 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2046 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2049 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2050 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2051 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2052 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2056 @node Selecting a Group
2057 @section Selecting a Group
2058 @cindex group selection
2063 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2064 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2065 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2066 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2067 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2068 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2069 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2070 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2071 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2072 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2074 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2075 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2076 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2078 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2079 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2084 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2085 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2086 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2087 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2088 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2092 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2093 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2094 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2095 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2096 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2097 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2098 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2099 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2100 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2101 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2104 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2105 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2106 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2107 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2108 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2111 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2112 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2113 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2114 doing any processing of its contents
2115 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2116 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2117 manner will have no permanent effects.
2121 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2122 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
2123 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
2124 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2125 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
2126 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2127 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2128 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2131 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2132 Same as @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but only used for ephemeral
2135 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2136 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2137 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2138 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2139 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2140 Which article this is is controlled by the
2141 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2147 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2150 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2153 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2155 @item unseen-or-unread
2156 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2157 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2161 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2165 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2166 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2168 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2169 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2170 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2171 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2175 @node Subscription Commands
2176 @section Subscription Commands
2177 @cindex subscription
2185 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2186 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2187 Toggle subscription to the current group
2188 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2194 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2195 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2196 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2197 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2203 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2204 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2205 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2211 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2212 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2215 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2216 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2217 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2218 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2219 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2225 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2226 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2231 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2234 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2235 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2236 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2237 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2238 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2239 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2240 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2241 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2242 @file{.newsrc} file.
2246 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2256 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2257 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2258 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2259 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2260 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2261 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2266 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2267 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2268 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2272 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2273 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2274 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2276 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2277 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2278 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2279 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2280 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2281 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2288 @section Group Levels
2292 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2293 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2294 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2295 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2296 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2298 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2304 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2305 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2306 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2307 prompted for a level.
2310 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2311 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2312 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2313 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2314 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2315 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2316 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2317 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2318 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2319 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2320 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2321 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2322 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2323 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2324 reasons of efficiency.
2326 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2327 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2329 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2330 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2331 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2332 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2333 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2334 groups are hidden, in a way.
2336 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2337 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2338 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2339 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2340 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2341 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2343 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2344 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2345 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2346 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2347 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2348 list of killed groups.)
2350 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2351 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2352 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2354 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2355 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2356 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2357 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2358 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2359 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2360 relevant valid ranges.
2362 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2363 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2364 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2365 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2366 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2367 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2370 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2371 one with the best level.
2373 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2374 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2375 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2378 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2379 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2380 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2381 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2384 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2385 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2386 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2387 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2389 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2390 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2391 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2392 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2393 to 5. The default is 6.
2397 @section Group Score
2402 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2403 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2404 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2407 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2408 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2409 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2410 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2411 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2412 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2413 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2414 least significant part.))
2416 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2417 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2418 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2419 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2420 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2421 action after each summary exit, you can add
2422 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2423 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2424 slow things down somewhat.
2427 @node Marking Groups
2428 @section Marking Groups
2429 @cindex marking groups
2431 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2432 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2433 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2434 bidding on those groups.
2436 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2437 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2438 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2446 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2447 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2453 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2454 Remove the mark from the current group
2455 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2459 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2460 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2464 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2465 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2469 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2470 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2474 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2475 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2476 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2479 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2481 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2482 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2483 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2484 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2485 the command to be executed.
2488 @node Foreign Groups
2489 @section Foreign Groups
2490 @cindex foreign groups
2492 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2493 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2494 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2495 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2502 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2503 @cindex making groups
2504 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2505 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2506 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2510 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2511 @cindex renaming groups
2512 Rename the current group to something else
2513 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2514 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2520 @findex gnus-group-customize
2521 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2526 @cindex renaming groups
2527 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2528 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2532 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2533 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2534 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2538 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2539 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2540 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2544 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2546 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2547 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2552 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2553 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2557 @cindex (ding) archive
2558 @cindex archive group
2559 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2560 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2561 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2562 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2563 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2564 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2565 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2569 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2571 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2572 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2573 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2574 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2578 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2580 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2581 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2582 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2586 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2587 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2589 Make a group based on some file or other
2590 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2591 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2592 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2593 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2594 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2595 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2596 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2597 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2598 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2602 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2603 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2604 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2605 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2609 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2613 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2614 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2615 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2616 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2617 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2618 @xref{Web Searches}.
2620 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2621 to a particular group by using a match string like
2622 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2625 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2626 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2627 This function will delete the current group
2628 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2629 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2630 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2631 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2632 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2636 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2637 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2638 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2642 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2643 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2644 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2647 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2650 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2651 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2652 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2653 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2654 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2655 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2659 @node Group Parameters
2660 @section Group Parameters
2661 @cindex group parameters
2663 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2664 Here's an example group parameter list:
2667 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2671 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2672 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2673 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2674 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2676 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2677 is an alist of regexps and values.
2679 The following group parameters can be used:
2684 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2687 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2690 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2691 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2692 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2693 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2694 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2696 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2697 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2698 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2699 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2700 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2701 list address instead.
2703 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2707 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2710 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2713 It is totally ignored
2714 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2715 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2717 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2718 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2719 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2720 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2721 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2723 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2724 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2725 sending the message.
2727 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2728 @cindex Mail List Groups
2729 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2730 entering summary buffer.
2732 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2737 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2738 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2739 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2740 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2741 headers for your posts to these lists. Look here @pxref{Mailing
2742 Lists, , Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual} for a complete
2743 treatment of available MFT support.
2745 See also @code{gnus-find-subscribed-addresses}, the function that
2746 directly uses this group parameter.
2750 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2751 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2752 of whether it has any unread articles.
2754 @item broken-reply-to
2755 @cindex broken-reply-to
2756 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2757 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2758 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2759 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2760 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2761 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2765 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2766 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2770 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2771 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2772 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2777 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2778 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2779 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2780 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2781 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2782 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2783 (@pxref{Archived Messages}). CAVEAT:: It yields an error putting
2784 @code{(gcc-self . t)} in groups of a @code{nntp} server or so, because
2785 a @code{nntp} server doesn't accept articles.
2789 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2790 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2791 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2793 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2796 @cindex total-expire
2797 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2798 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2799 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2800 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2803 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2807 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2808 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2809 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2810 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2811 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2812 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2813 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2816 @cindex score file group parameter
2817 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2818 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2819 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2822 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2823 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2824 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2825 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2828 @cindex admin-address
2829 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2830 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2831 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2832 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2836 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2837 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2841 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2844 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2845 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2848 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2852 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2854 Here are some examples:
2858 Display only unread articles.
2861 Display everything except expirable articles.
2863 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2864 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2868 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2869 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2870 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2871 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2872 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2876 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2877 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2878 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2882 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2883 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2884 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2888 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2889 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2890 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2892 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2894 @item ignored-charsets
2895 @cindex ignored-charset
2896 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2897 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2898 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2900 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2903 @cindex posting-style
2904 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2905 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2906 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2907 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2908 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2910 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2911 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2912 like this in the group parameters:
2917 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2918 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2923 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2924 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2928 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2929 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2930 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2931 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2932 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2936 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2937 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2938 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2939 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
2941 For example, if the INBOX.list.sieve group has the @code{(sieve
2942 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
2943 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
2944 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
2947 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
2948 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
2952 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, , Top, sieve,
2955 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2956 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2957 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2958 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2959 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2960 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2961 @code{eval}ed there.
2963 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
2964 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
2965 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
2966 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
2967 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
2968 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
2969 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
2970 @file{~/.gnus} file:
2972 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
2975 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
2976 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
2977 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
2979 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
2981 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
2982 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
2983 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
2984 into the group parameters for the group.
2986 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2987 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2988 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2989 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2990 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2994 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2995 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2996 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2997 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2998 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3000 @vindex gnus-parameters
3001 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3002 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3006 (setq gnus-parameters
3008 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3009 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3010 (gnus-summary-line-format
3011 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3015 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3019 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3023 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3026 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3027 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3030 @node Listing Groups
3031 @section Listing Groups
3032 @cindex group listing
3034 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3042 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3043 List all groups that have unread articles
3044 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3045 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3046 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3047 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3054 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3055 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3056 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3057 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3058 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3059 unsubscribed groups).
3063 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3064 List all unread groups on a specific level
3065 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3066 with no unread articles.
3070 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3071 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3072 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3073 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3078 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3079 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3083 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3084 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3085 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3089 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3090 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3094 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3095 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3096 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3097 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3098 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3099 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3100 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3101 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3105 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3106 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3107 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3111 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3112 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3113 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3117 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3118 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3122 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3123 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3127 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3128 List groups limited within the current selection
3129 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3133 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3134 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3138 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3139 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3143 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3144 @cindex visible group parameter
3145 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3146 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3147 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3148 get the same effect.
3150 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3151 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3152 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3153 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3154 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3157 @node Sorting Groups
3158 @section Sorting Groups
3159 @cindex sorting groups
3161 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3162 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3163 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3164 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3165 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3166 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3171 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3172 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3173 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3175 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3176 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3177 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3179 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3180 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3181 Sort by group level.
3183 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3184 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3185 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3187 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3188 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3189 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3190 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3192 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3193 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3194 Sort by number of unread articles.
3196 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3197 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3198 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3200 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3201 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3202 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3207 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3208 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3212 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3213 some sorting criteria:
3217 @kindex G S a (Group)
3218 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3219 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3220 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3223 @kindex G S u (Group)
3224 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3225 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3226 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3229 @kindex G S l (Group)
3230 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3231 Sort the group buffer by group level
3232 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3235 @kindex G S v (Group)
3236 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3237 Sort the group buffer by group score
3238 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3241 @kindex G S r (Group)
3242 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3243 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3244 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3247 @kindex G S m (Group)
3248 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3249 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3250 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3253 @kindex G S n (Group)
3254 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3255 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3256 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3260 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3261 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3263 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3264 commands will sort in reverse order.
3266 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3270 @kindex G P a (Group)
3271 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3272 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3273 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3276 @kindex G P u (Group)
3277 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3278 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3279 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3282 @kindex G P l (Group)
3283 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3284 Sort the groups by group level
3285 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3288 @kindex G P v (Group)
3289 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3290 Sort the groups by group score
3291 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3294 @kindex G P r (Group)
3295 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3296 Sort the groups by group rank
3297 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3300 @kindex G P m (Group)
3301 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3302 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3303 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3306 @kindex G P n (Group)
3307 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3308 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3309 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3312 @kindex G P s (Group)
3313 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3314 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3318 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3322 @node Group Maintenance
3323 @section Group Maintenance
3324 @cindex bogus groups
3329 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3330 Find bogus groups and delete them
3331 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3335 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3336 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3337 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3338 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3339 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3343 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3344 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3345 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3346 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3347 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3348 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3351 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3352 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3353 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3354 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3359 @node Browse Foreign Server
3360 @section Browse Foreign Server
3361 @cindex foreign servers
3362 @cindex browsing servers
3367 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3368 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3369 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3370 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3373 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3374 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3375 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3376 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3378 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3383 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3384 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3388 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3389 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3392 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3393 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3394 Enter the current group and display the first article
3395 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3398 @kindex RET (Browse)
3399 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3400 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3404 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3405 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3406 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3412 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3413 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3417 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3418 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3422 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3423 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3424 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3429 @section Exiting Gnus
3430 @cindex exiting Gnus
3432 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3437 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3438 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3439 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3440 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3444 @findex gnus-group-exit
3445 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3446 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3450 @findex gnus-group-quit
3451 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3452 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3455 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3456 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3457 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3458 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3459 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3460 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3466 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3467 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3468 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3474 @section Group Topics
3477 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3478 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3479 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3480 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3481 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3482 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3486 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3487 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3498 2: alt.religion.emacs
3501 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3503 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3504 13: comp.sources.unix
3507 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3509 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3510 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3511 is a toggling command.)
3513 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3514 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3515 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3516 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3519 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3520 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3521 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3524 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3528 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3529 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3530 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3531 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3532 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3536 @node Topic Commands
3537 @subsection Topic Commands
3538 @cindex topic commands
3540 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3541 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3542 definitions slightly.
3544 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3545 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3546 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3547 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3548 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3549 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3551 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3558 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3559 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3560 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3564 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3566 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3567 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3568 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3569 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3572 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3573 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3574 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3575 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3579 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3580 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3581 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3582 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3588 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3589 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3590 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3594 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3595 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3596 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3599 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3600 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the `cut' part of cut and paste. Then,
3601 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the `Gnus'
3602 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the `paste' part of cut and
3603 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3605 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3606 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3610 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3611 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3618 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3620 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3621 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3622 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3623 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3624 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3625 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3629 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3635 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3636 Move the current group to some other topic
3637 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3638 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3642 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3643 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3647 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3648 Copy the current group to some other topic
3649 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3650 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3654 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3655 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3656 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3660 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3661 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3662 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3666 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3667 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3668 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3669 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3670 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3671 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3672 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3675 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3676 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3680 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3681 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3682 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3686 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3687 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3688 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3692 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3693 Toggle hiding empty topics
3694 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3698 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3699 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3700 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3701 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3704 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3705 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3706 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3707 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3708 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3711 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3712 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3713 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3714 expiry process (if any)
3715 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3719 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3720 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3723 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3724 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3725 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3729 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3730 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3731 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3734 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3735 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3736 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3739 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3740 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3741 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3745 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3746 @cindex group parameters
3747 @cindex topic parameters
3749 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3750 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3755 @node Topic Variables
3756 @subsection Topic Variables
3757 @cindex topic variables
3759 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3760 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3762 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3763 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3764 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3777 Number of groups in the topic.
3779 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3781 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3784 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3785 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3786 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3789 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3790 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3792 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3793 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3794 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3798 @subsection Topic Sorting
3799 @cindex topic sorting
3801 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3807 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3808 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3809 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3810 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3813 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3814 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3815 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3816 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3819 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3820 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3821 Sort the current topic by group level
3822 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3825 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3826 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3827 Sort the current topic by group score
3828 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3831 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3832 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3833 Sort the current topic by group rank
3834 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3837 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3838 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3839 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3840 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3843 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3844 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3845 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3846 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3850 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3851 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3852 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3853 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3857 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3858 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3862 @node Topic Topology
3863 @subsection Topic Topology
3864 @cindex topic topology
3867 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3874 2: alt.religion.emacs
3877 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3879 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3880 13: comp.sources.unix
3884 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3885 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3886 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3891 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3892 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3896 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3897 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3898 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3899 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3900 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3901 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3903 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3904 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3905 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3908 @node Topic Parameters
3909 @subsection Topic Parameters
3910 @cindex topic parameters
3912 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3913 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3914 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3916 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3921 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3922 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3923 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3926 @item subscribe-level
3927 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
3928 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
3929 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
3933 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3934 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3935 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3936 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3942 2: alt.religion.emacs
3946 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3948 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3949 13: comp.sources.unix
3953 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3954 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3955 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3956 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3957 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3958 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3960 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3961 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3962 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3963 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3964 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3966 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3967 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3968 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3969 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3970 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3971 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3972 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3973 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3976 @node Misc Group Stuff
3977 @section Misc Group Stuff
3980 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3981 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3982 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3983 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3984 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
3991 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3992 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3993 @xref{Server Buffer}.
3997 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3998 Start composing a message (a news by default)
3999 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4000 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4001 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4002 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4003 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4007 @findex gnus-group-mail
4008 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4009 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4010 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4011 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4015 @findex gnus-group-news
4016 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4017 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4018 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4020 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4021 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4022 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4023 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4024 for this to work though.
4028 Variables for the group buffer:
4032 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4033 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4034 is called after the group buffer has been
4037 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4038 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4039 is called after the group buffer is
4040 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4043 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4044 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4045 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4046 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4048 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4049 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4050 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4051 whether they are empty or not.
4053 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4054 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4055 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4056 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4060 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4061 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4064 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4065 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4066 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4067 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4068 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4069 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4070 default is @code{nil}.
4074 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4075 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4080 @node Scanning New Messages
4081 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4082 @cindex new messages
4083 @cindex scanning new news
4089 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4090 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4091 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4092 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4093 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4094 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4099 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4100 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4101 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4102 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4103 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4104 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4105 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4107 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4108 @cindex activating groups
4110 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4111 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4116 @findex gnus-group-restart
4117 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4118 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4119 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4123 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4124 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4126 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4127 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4131 @node Group Information
4132 @subsection Group Information
4133 @cindex group information
4134 @cindex information on groups
4141 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4142 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4145 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4146 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4147 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4148 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4149 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4150 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4151 used for fetching the file.
4153 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4154 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4158 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4159 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4161 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4162 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4165 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4166 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4167 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4171 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4172 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4173 @cindex control message
4174 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4175 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4176 group if given a prefix argument.
4178 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4179 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4180 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4181 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4183 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4184 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4185 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4189 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4191 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4192 @cindex describing groups
4193 @cindex group description
4194 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4195 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4196 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4200 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4201 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4202 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4209 @findex gnus-version
4210 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4214 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4215 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4218 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4221 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4222 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4226 @node Group Timestamp
4227 @subsection Group Timestamp
4229 @cindex group timestamps
4231 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4232 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4233 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4236 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4239 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4241 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4242 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4245 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4246 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4249 This will result in lines looking like:
4252 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4253 0: custom 19961002T012713
4256 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4257 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4261 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4262 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4265 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4266 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4270 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4271 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4272 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4273 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4275 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4281 @subsection File Commands
4282 @cindex file commands
4288 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4289 @vindex gnus-init-file
4290 @cindex reading init file
4291 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4292 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4296 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4297 @cindex saving .newsrc
4298 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4299 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4300 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4303 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4304 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4305 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4310 @node Sieve Commands
4311 @subsection Sieve Commands
4312 @cindex group sieve commands
4314 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4315 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4316 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4317 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4318 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4320 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4321 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4322 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4323 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4324 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4325 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4326 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4327 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4328 regenerate the Sieve script.
4330 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4331 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4332 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4333 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4334 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4335 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4336 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4337 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4338 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4339 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4342 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4343 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4348 @xref{Top, ,Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4354 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4355 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4356 @cindex generating sieve script
4357 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4358 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4362 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4363 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4364 @cindex updating sieve script
4365 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4366 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4367 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4372 @node Summary Buffer
4373 @chapter Summary Buffer
4374 @cindex summary buffer
4376 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4377 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4379 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4380 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4382 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4385 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4386 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4387 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4388 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4389 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4390 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4391 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4392 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4393 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4394 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4395 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4396 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4397 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4398 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4399 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4400 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4401 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4402 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4403 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4404 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4405 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4406 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4407 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4408 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4409 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4410 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4411 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4412 or reselecting the current group.
4413 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4414 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4415 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4416 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4420 @node Summary Buffer Format
4421 @section Summary Buffer Format
4422 @cindex summary buffer format
4426 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4427 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4428 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4434 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4435 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4436 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4437 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4440 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4441 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4442 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4443 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4444 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4445 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4446 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4447 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4448 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4449 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4450 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4453 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4454 'mail-extract-address-components)
4457 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4458 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4459 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4460 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4463 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4464 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4466 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4467 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4468 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4469 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4470 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4472 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4473 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4474 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4475 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4476 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4477 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4479 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4481 The following format specification characters and extended format
4482 specification(s) are understood:
4488 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4489 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4491 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4492 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4493 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4495 Full @code{From} header.
4497 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4499 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4502 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4503 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4504 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4505 may be more thorough.
4507 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4510 Number of lines in the article.
4512 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4513 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4515 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4516 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4518 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4520 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4521 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4534 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4535 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4536 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4537 line-drawing glyphs.
4539 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4540 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4541 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4542 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4544 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4545 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4546 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4547 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4549 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4550 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4551 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4552 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4554 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4555 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4556 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4558 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4559 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4560 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4562 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4563 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4564 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4566 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4567 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4568 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4573 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4574 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4576 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4577 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4579 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4580 for adopted articles.
4582 One space for each thread level.
4584 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4586 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4589 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4590 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4591 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4594 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4596 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4597 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4598 default level. If the difference between
4599 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4600 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4608 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4610 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4616 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4617 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4619 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4620 article has any children.
4626 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4627 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4629 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4630 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4631 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4632 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4633 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4634 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4637 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4638 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4639 There can only be one such area.
4641 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4642 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4643 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4644 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4645 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4646 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4648 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4649 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4651 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4654 @node To From Newsgroups
4655 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4659 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4660 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4661 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4662 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4663 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4667 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4668 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4669 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4673 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4674 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4677 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4678 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4681 @findex gnus-extra-header
4682 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4683 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4684 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4687 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4691 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4692 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4693 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4694 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4695 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4696 headers are used instead.
4700 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4701 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4702 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4703 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4704 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4705 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4708 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4709 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4710 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4711 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4713 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4717 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4719 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4720 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4721 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4722 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4726 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4729 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4730 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4733 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4734 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4735 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4741 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4742 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4745 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4746 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4748 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4749 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4750 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4751 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4753 Here are the elements you can play with:
4759 Unprefixed group name.
4761 Current article number.
4763 Current article score.
4767 Number of unread articles in this group.
4769 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4772 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4773 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4774 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4775 and no unselected ones.
4777 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4778 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4780 Subject of the current article.
4782 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4784 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4786 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4788 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4790 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4792 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4796 @node Summary Highlighting
4797 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4801 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4802 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4803 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4804 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4805 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4807 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4808 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4809 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4810 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4812 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4813 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4814 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4815 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4817 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4818 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4819 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4820 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4821 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4822 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4825 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4826 ((> score default) . bold))
4828 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4829 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4833 @node Summary Maneuvering
4834 @section Summary Maneuvering
4835 @cindex summary movement
4837 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4838 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4840 None of these commands select articles.
4845 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4846 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4847 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4848 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4849 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4853 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4854 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4855 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4856 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4857 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4860 @kindex G g (Summary)
4861 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4862 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4863 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4866 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4867 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4868 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4869 to the group buffer.
4871 Variables related to summary movement:
4875 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4876 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4877 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4878 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4879 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4880 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4881 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4882 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4883 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4884 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4885 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4886 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4887 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4888 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4890 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4891 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4892 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4893 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4894 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4895 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4896 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4898 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4900 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4901 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4902 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4903 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4904 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4906 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4907 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4908 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4909 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4910 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4911 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4912 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4913 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4916 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4917 the given number of lines from the top.
4922 @node Choosing Articles
4923 @section Choosing Articles
4924 @cindex selecting articles
4927 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4928 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4932 @node Choosing Commands
4933 @subsection Choosing Commands
4935 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4936 and they all select and display an article.
4938 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4939 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4943 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4944 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4945 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4946 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4948 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
4949 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
4950 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @pxref{Paging the Article}.
4955 @kindex G n (Summary)
4956 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4957 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4958 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4963 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4964 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4965 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4970 @kindex G N (Summary)
4971 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4972 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4977 @kindex G P (Summary)
4978 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4979 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4982 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4983 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4984 Go to the next article with the same subject
4985 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4988 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4989 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4990 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4991 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4995 @kindex G f (Summary)
4997 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4998 Go to the first unread article
4999 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5003 @kindex G b (Summary)
5005 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5006 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5007 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5008 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5013 @kindex G l (Summary)
5014 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5015 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5018 @kindex G o (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5021 @cindex article history
5022 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5023 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5024 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5025 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5026 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5027 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5032 @kindex G j (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5034 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5035 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5040 @node Choosing Variables
5041 @subsection Choosing Variables
5043 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5046 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5047 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5048 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5049 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5050 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5051 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5053 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5054 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5055 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5056 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5057 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5058 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5060 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5061 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5062 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5063 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5064 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5065 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5066 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5067 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5068 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5069 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5070 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5071 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5072 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5073 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5078 @node Paging the Article
5079 @section Scrolling the Article
5080 @cindex article scrolling
5085 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5087 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5088 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5089 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5091 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5092 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5093 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5094 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5095 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5096 what is considered uninteresting with
5097 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5098 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5101 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5102 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5103 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5106 @kindex RET (Summary)
5107 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5108 Scroll the current article one line forward
5109 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5112 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5114 Scroll the current article one line backward
5115 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5119 @kindex A g (Summary)
5121 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5122 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5123 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5124 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5125 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5126 the way it came from the server.
5128 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5129 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5130 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5133 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5138 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5143 @kindex A < (Summary)
5144 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5145 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5146 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5151 @kindex A > (Summary)
5152 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5153 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5157 @kindex A s (Summary)
5159 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5160 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5161 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5165 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5166 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5171 @node Reply Followup and Post
5172 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5175 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5176 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5177 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5178 * Canceling and Superseding::
5182 @node Summary Mail Commands
5183 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5185 @cindex composing mail
5187 Commands for composing a mail message:
5193 @kindex S r (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5196 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5197 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5198 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5199 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5204 @kindex S R (Summary)
5205 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5206 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5207 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5208 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5209 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5212 @kindex S w (Summary)
5213 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5214 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5215 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5216 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5217 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
5220 @kindex S W (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5222 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5223 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5224 the process/prefix convention.
5227 @kindex S v (Summary)
5228 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5229 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5230 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5231 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5232 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5233 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5236 @kindex S V (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5238 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5239 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5240 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5243 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5244 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5245 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5246 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5247 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5248 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5249 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5250 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5253 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5254 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5255 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5256 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5257 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5261 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5262 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5264 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5265 Forward the current article to some other person
5266 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5267 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5268 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5269 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5270 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5271 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5272 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5273 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5274 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5280 @kindex S m (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5282 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5283 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5284 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5285 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5290 @kindex S i (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5292 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5293 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5294 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5296 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5297 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5298 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5299 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5300 for this to work though.
5303 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5305 @cindex bouncing mail
5306 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5307 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5308 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5309 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5310 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5311 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5312 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5313 very well fail, though.
5316 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5318 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5319 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5320 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5321 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5322 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5323 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5324 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5325 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5327 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5328 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5329 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5330 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5331 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5333 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5334 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5337 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5338 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5339 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5340 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5341 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5344 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5346 @cindex crossposting
5347 @cindex excessive crossposting
5348 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5349 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5351 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5352 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5353 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5354 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5355 command understands the process/prefix convention
5356 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5360 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5361 Manual}, for more information.
5364 @node Summary Post Commands
5365 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5367 @cindex composing news
5369 Commands for posting a news article:
5375 @kindex S p (Summary)
5376 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5377 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5378 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5379 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5380 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5385 @kindex S f (Summary)
5386 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5387 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5388 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5392 @kindex S F (Summary)
5394 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5395 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5396 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5397 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5398 process/prefix convention.
5401 @kindex S n (Summary)
5402 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5403 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5404 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5407 @kindex S N (Summary)
5408 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5409 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5410 message through mail and include the original message
5411 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5412 the process/prefix convention.
5415 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5416 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5417 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5418 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5419 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5420 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5421 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5422 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5423 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5424 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5425 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5426 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5427 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5430 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5431 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5433 @cindex making digests
5434 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5435 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5436 process/prefix convention.
5439 @kindex S u (Summary)
5440 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5441 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5442 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5443 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5446 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5447 Manual}, for more information.
5450 @node Summary Message Commands
5451 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5455 @kindex S y (Summary)
5456 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5457 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5458 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5459 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5460 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5465 @node Canceling and Superseding
5466 @subsection Canceling Articles
5467 @cindex canceling articles
5468 @cindex superseding articles
5470 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5471 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5473 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5475 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5477 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5478 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5479 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5480 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5481 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5482 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5484 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5485 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5488 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5489 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5490 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5492 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5493 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5494 your original article.
5496 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5498 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5499 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5500 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5503 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5504 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5505 have posted almost the same article twice.
5507 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5508 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5509 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5510 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5511 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5512 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5513 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5514 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5515 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5516 canceled/superseded.
5518 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5520 @node Delayed Articles
5521 @section Delayed Articles
5522 @cindex delayed sending
5523 @cindex send delayed
5525 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5526 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5527 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5528 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5531 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5534 @findex gnus-delay-article
5535 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5536 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5537 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5538 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5542 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5543 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5544 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5545 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5548 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5549 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5550 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5553 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5554 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5555 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5556 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5557 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5558 that means a time tomorrow.
5561 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5562 couple of variables:
5565 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5566 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5567 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5568 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5570 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5571 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5572 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5573 formats described above.
5575 @item gnus-delay-group
5576 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5577 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5578 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5579 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5581 @item gnus-delay-header
5582 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5583 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5584 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5585 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5588 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5589 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5590 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5591 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5592 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5594 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5595 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5596 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5597 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5598 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5599 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5600 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5603 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5604 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5605 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5606 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5607 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5608 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5609 argument is ignored.
5611 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5612 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5613 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5617 @node Marking Articles
5618 @section Marking Articles
5619 @cindex article marking
5620 @cindex article ticking
5623 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5625 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5626 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5627 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5629 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5632 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5633 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5634 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5638 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5642 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5643 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5644 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5648 @node Unread Articles
5649 @subsection Unread Articles
5651 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5656 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5657 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5659 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5660 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5661 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5662 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5663 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5664 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5665 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5668 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5669 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5671 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5672 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5673 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5674 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5678 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5679 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5681 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5686 @subsection Read Articles
5687 @cindex expirable mark
5689 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5694 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5695 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5696 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5699 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5700 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5703 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5704 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5705 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5708 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5709 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5712 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5713 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5716 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5717 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5720 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5721 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5724 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5725 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5728 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5729 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5732 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5733 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5737 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5738 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5739 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5743 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5744 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5746 One more special mark, though:
5750 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5751 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5753 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5754 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5755 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5756 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5762 @subsection Other Marks
5763 @cindex process mark
5766 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5772 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5773 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5774 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5775 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5776 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5779 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5780 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5781 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5782 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5785 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5786 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5787 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5790 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5791 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5792 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5795 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5796 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5797 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5798 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5801 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5802 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5803 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5804 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5805 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5806 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5809 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5810 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5811 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5812 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5815 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5816 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, articles may be
5817 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5818 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5819 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5823 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5824 When using the Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics}, some articles might
5825 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5826 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5827 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5828 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5831 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5832 The Gnus agent @pxref{Agent Basics} downloads some articles
5833 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5834 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5835 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5836 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5840 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5841 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5842 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5843 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5844 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5847 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5848 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5849 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5850 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5851 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5852 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5856 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5857 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5858 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5860 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5861 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5862 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5866 @subsection Setting Marks
5867 @cindex setting marks
5869 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5874 @kindex M c (Summary)
5875 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5876 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5877 @cindex mark as unread
5878 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5879 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5885 @kindex M t (Summary)
5886 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5887 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5888 @xref{Article Caching}.
5893 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5894 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5895 Mark the current article as dormant
5896 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5900 @kindex M d (Summary)
5902 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5903 Mark the current article as read
5904 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5908 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5909 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5910 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5915 @kindex M k (Summary)
5916 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5917 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5918 and then select the next unread article
5919 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5923 @kindex M K (Summary)
5924 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5925 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5926 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5927 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5930 @kindex M C (Summary)
5931 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5932 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5933 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5936 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5937 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5938 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5939 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5942 @kindex M H (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5944 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
5945 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5948 @kindex M h (Summary)
5949 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
5950 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
5951 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
5954 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5955 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5956 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5957 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5960 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5961 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5962 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5963 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5967 @kindex M e (Summary)
5969 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5970 Mark the current article as expirable
5971 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5974 @kindex M b (Summary)
5975 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5976 Set a bookmark in the current article
5977 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5980 @kindex M B (Summary)
5981 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5982 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5983 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5986 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5987 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5988 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5989 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5992 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5993 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5994 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5995 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5998 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5999 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6000 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6001 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6002 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6005 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6006 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6007 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6008 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6009 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6010 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6011 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6012 The default is @code{t}.
6015 @node Generic Marking Commands
6016 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6018 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6019 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6020 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6021 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6022 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6025 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6026 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6029 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6030 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6031 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6032 to list in this manual.
6034 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6035 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6036 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6037 article, you could say something like:
6041 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6042 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6043 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6050 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6051 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6055 @node Setting Process Marks
6056 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6057 @cindex setting process marks
6059 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6060 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6061 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6062 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6063 commands into the cache. For more information,
6064 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6071 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6072 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6073 Mark the current article with the process mark
6074 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6075 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6079 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6080 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6081 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6082 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6085 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6086 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6087 Remove the process mark from all articles
6088 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6091 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6092 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6093 Invert the list of process marked articles
6094 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6097 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6098 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6099 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6100 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6103 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6104 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6105 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6106 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6109 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6110 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6111 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6115 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6116 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6119 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6120 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6121 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6122 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6125 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6126 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6127 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6128 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6131 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6132 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6133 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6134 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6137 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6138 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6139 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6142 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6143 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6144 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6145 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6148 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6149 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6150 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6153 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6154 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6155 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6156 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6159 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6160 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6161 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6162 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6165 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6166 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6167 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6168 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6171 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6172 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6173 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6174 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6178 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
6179 set process marks based on article body contents.
6186 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6187 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6188 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6191 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6192 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6193 additional articles.
6199 @kindex / / (Summary)
6200 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6201 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6202 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6206 @kindex / a (Summary)
6207 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6208 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6209 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6213 @kindex / x (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6215 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6216 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6217 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6222 @kindex / u (Summary)
6224 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6225 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6226 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6227 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6228 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6231 @kindex / m (Summary)
6232 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6233 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6234 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6237 @kindex / t (Summary)
6238 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6239 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6240 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6241 articles younger than that number of days.
6244 @kindex / n (Summary)
6245 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6246 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6247 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6248 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6251 @kindex / w (Summary)
6252 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6253 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6254 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6258 @kindex / . (Summary)
6259 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6260 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6261 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6264 @kindex / v (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6266 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6267 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6270 @kindex / p (Summary)
6271 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6272 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6273 group parameter predicate
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). See @pxref{Group
6275 Parameters} for more on this predicate.
6279 @kindex M S (Summary)
6280 @kindex / E (Summary)
6281 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6282 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6283 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6286 @kindex / D (Summary)
6287 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6288 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6289 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6292 @kindex / * (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6294 Include all cached articles in the limit
6295 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6298 @kindex / d (Summary)
6299 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6300 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6301 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6304 @kindex / M (Summary)
6305 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6306 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6309 @kindex / T (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6311 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6314 @kindex / c (Summary)
6315 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6316 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6317 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6320 @kindex / C (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6322 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6323 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6324 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6327 @kindex / N (Summary)
6328 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6329 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6330 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6333 @kindex / o (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6335 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6336 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6344 @cindex article threading
6346 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6347 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6348 hierarchical fashion.
6350 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6351 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6352 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6353 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6354 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6355 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6356 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
6358 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6362 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6365 A tree-like article structure.
6368 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6371 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6372 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6373 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6374 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6375 called loose threads.
6377 @item thread gathering
6378 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6380 @item sparse threads
6381 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6382 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6388 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6389 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6393 @node Customizing Threading
6394 @subsection Customizing Threading
6395 @cindex customizing threading
6398 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6399 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6400 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6401 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6406 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6409 @cindex loose threads
6412 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6413 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6414 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6415 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6416 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6417 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6419 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6420 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6421 There are four possible values:
6425 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6426 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6427 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6428 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6429 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6434 @cindex adopting articles
6439 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6440 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6441 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6442 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6445 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6446 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6447 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6448 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6449 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6450 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6451 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6452 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6453 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6454 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6457 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6458 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6459 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6463 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6464 display them after one another.
6467 Don't gather loose threads.
6470 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6471 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6472 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6473 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6474 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6475 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6476 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6477 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6478 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6479 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6480 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6482 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6483 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6484 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6487 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6488 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6489 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6490 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6491 simplification is used.
6493 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6494 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6495 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6496 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6498 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6500 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6506 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6507 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6508 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6509 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6514 (mapconcat 'identity
6515 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6517 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6520 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6523 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6524 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6525 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6526 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6527 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6528 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6530 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6533 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6534 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6535 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6537 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6538 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6541 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6542 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6543 Remove excessive whitespace.
6545 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6546 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6547 Remove all whitespace.
6550 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6553 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6554 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6555 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6556 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6557 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6558 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6559 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6560 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6562 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6563 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6564 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6565 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6566 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6567 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6568 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6569 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6570 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6574 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6575 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6576 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6577 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6579 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6580 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6581 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6584 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6588 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6589 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6595 @node Filling In Threads
6596 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6599 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6600 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6601 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6602 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
6603 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
6604 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
6605 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
6606 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
6607 fetching old headers only works if the back end you are using carries
6608 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6609 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6610 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do
6613 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6614 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6615 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6617 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6618 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6619 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6622 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6623 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6624 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6625 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6626 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6627 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6628 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6629 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6630 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6631 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6632 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6633 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6634 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6635 @code{nil} by default.
6637 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6638 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6639 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6640 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6641 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6642 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6643 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6645 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6646 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6647 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6652 @node More Threading
6653 @subsubsection More Threading
6656 @item gnus-show-threads
6657 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6658 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6659 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6660 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6661 slower and more awkward.
6663 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6664 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6665 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6668 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6669 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6670 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6675 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6676 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6677 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6680 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6681 unread, but you get my drift.)
6684 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6685 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6686 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6687 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6688 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6689 threads are expunged.
6691 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6692 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6693 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6696 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6697 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6698 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6699 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6700 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6701 result in a new thread.
6703 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6704 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6705 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6708 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6709 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6710 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6711 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6712 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6713 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6714 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6715 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6716 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6717 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6718 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6723 @node Low-Level Threading
6724 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6728 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6729 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6730 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6732 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6733 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6734 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6735 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6736 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6737 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6738 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6739 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6740 meaningful. Here's one example:
6743 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6745 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6746 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6748 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6750 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6757 @node Thread Commands
6758 @subsection Thread Commands
6759 @cindex thread commands
6765 @kindex T k (Summary)
6766 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6768 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6769 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6770 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6775 @kindex T l (Summary)
6776 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6777 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6778 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6779 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6782 @kindex T i (Summary)
6783 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6784 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6785 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6788 @kindex T # (Summary)
6789 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6790 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6791 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6794 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6795 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6796 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6797 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6800 @kindex T T (Summary)
6801 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6802 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6805 @kindex T s (Summary)
6806 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6807 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6808 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6811 @kindex T h (Summary)
6812 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6813 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6816 @kindex T S (Summary)
6817 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6818 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6821 @kindex T H (Summary)
6822 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6823 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6826 @kindex T t (Summary)
6827 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6828 Re-thread the current article's thread
6829 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6830 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6833 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6834 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6835 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6836 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6840 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6841 understand the numeric prefix.
6846 @kindex T n (Summary)
6848 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6850 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6851 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6852 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6855 @kindex T p (Summary)
6857 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6859 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6860 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6861 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6864 @kindex T d (Summary)
6865 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6866 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6869 @kindex T u (Summary)
6870 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6871 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6874 @kindex T o (Summary)
6875 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6876 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6879 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6880 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6881 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6882 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6883 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6884 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6885 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6886 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6887 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6888 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6889 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6890 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
6894 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
6895 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
6897 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
6898 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
6899 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
6900 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6901 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
6902 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6903 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
6904 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
6905 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-thread
6906 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
6907 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
6908 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
6909 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
6911 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
6912 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
6913 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
6914 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
6915 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
6916 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
6917 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
6918 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
6920 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
6921 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6922 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6924 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6925 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6926 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6927 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6928 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6929 ascending article order.
6931 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6932 by number, you could do something like:
6935 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6936 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6937 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6938 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6941 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6942 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6943 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6944 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6945 which the articles arrived.
6947 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6951 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6953 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6954 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6957 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6958 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6959 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6960 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6963 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6964 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6965 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6966 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6967 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6968 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
6969 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6970 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
6971 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
6972 variable. It is very similar to the
6973 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
6974 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
6975 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6976 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
6977 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
6978 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
6979 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6981 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6985 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6986 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6987 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6992 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6993 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6994 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6995 @cindex article pre-fetch
6998 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
6999 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7000 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7001 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7002 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7004 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7005 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7007 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7008 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7009 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7010 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7011 connection is blocked.
7013 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7014 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7015 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7016 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7018 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7019 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7020 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7021 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7024 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7027 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7028 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7029 happen automatically.
7031 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7032 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7033 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7034 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7035 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7036 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7037 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7039 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7040 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7041 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7042 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7043 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7044 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7045 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7046 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7047 article data structure as the only parameter.
7049 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7050 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7053 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7054 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7055 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7056 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7059 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7062 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7063 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7064 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7066 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7067 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7068 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7069 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7073 Remove articles when they are read.
7076 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7079 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7081 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7082 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7083 @c from the next group.
7086 @node Article Caching
7087 @section Article Caching
7088 @cindex article caching
7091 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7092 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7093 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7094 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7095 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7097 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7099 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7100 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7101 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7102 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7103 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7104 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7105 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7106 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7108 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7109 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7110 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7111 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7112 as dormant, and don't worry.
7114 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7116 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7117 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7118 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7119 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7120 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7121 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7122 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7123 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7124 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7125 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7127 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7128 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7129 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7130 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7131 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7132 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7133 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7134 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7135 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7136 not then be downloaded by this command.
7138 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7139 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7140 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7141 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7142 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7143 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7145 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7146 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7147 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7148 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7149 variables, the group is not cached.
7151 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7152 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7153 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7154 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7155 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7156 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7157 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7158 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7159 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7162 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7163 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7164 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7165 where, isn't that cool?
7167 @node Persistent Articles
7168 @section Persistent Articles
7169 @cindex persistent articles
7171 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7172 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7173 useful in my opinion.
7175 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7176 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7177 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7178 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7179 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7180 the expiry going on at the news server.
7182 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7183 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7184 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7190 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7191 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7194 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7195 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7196 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7197 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7201 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7203 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7204 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7205 interested in persistent articles:
7208 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7212 @node Article Backlog
7213 @section Article Backlog
7215 @cindex article backlog
7217 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7218 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7219 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7220 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7221 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7222 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7223 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7224 increase memory usage some.
7226 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7227 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7228 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7229 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7230 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7231 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7232 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7234 The default value is 20.
7237 @node Saving Articles
7238 @section Saving Articles
7239 @cindex saving articles
7241 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7242 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7243 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7244 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7245 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7247 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7248 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7249 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7251 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7252 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7253 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7255 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7256 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7257 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7258 deleted before saving.
7264 @kindex O o (Summary)
7266 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7267 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7268 Save the current article using the default article saver
7269 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7272 @kindex O m (Summary)
7273 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7274 Save the current article in mail format
7275 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7278 @kindex O r (Summary)
7279 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7280 Save the current article in Rmail format
7281 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7284 @kindex O f (Summary)
7285 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7286 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7287 Save the current article in plain file format
7288 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7291 @kindex O F (Summary)
7292 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7293 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7294 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7297 @kindex O b (Summary)
7298 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7299 Save the current article body in plain file format
7300 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7303 @kindex O h (Summary)
7304 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7305 Save the current article in mh folder format
7306 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7309 @kindex O v (Summary)
7310 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7311 Save the current article in a VM folder
7312 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7316 @kindex O p (Summary)
7318 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7319 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7320 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7321 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7322 complete headers in the piped output.
7325 @kindex O P (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7327 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7328 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7329 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7330 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7331 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7332 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7336 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7337 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7338 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7339 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7340 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7341 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7342 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7343 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7344 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7345 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7346 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7347 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7351 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7352 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7353 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7354 functions below, or you can create your own.
7358 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7359 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7360 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7361 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7362 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7363 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7364 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7366 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7367 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7368 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7369 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7370 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7371 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7373 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7374 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7375 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7376 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7377 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7378 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7379 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7381 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7382 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7383 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7384 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7385 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7386 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7388 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7389 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7390 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7391 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7392 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7394 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7395 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7396 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7397 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7398 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7401 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7402 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7403 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7404 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7405 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7407 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7408 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7409 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7410 reader to use this setting.
7413 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7414 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7415 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7416 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7419 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7420 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7421 available functions that generate names:
7425 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7426 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7427 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7429 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7430 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7431 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7433 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7434 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7435 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7437 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7438 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7439 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7441 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7442 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7443 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7446 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7447 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7448 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7449 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7450 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7454 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7455 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7456 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7457 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7460 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7461 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7462 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7463 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7464 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7465 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7466 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7467 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7468 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7470 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7471 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7472 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7473 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7475 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7476 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7477 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7480 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7481 lots of mail groups called things like
7482 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7483 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7484 following will do just that:
7487 (defun my-save-name (group)
7488 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7489 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7491 (setq gnus-split-methods
7492 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7497 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7498 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7499 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7500 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7501 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7502 all the files in the top level directory
7503 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7504 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7505 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7506 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7508 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7509 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7510 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7511 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7512 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7515 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7519 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7520 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7521 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7524 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7525 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7526 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7527 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7530 @node Decoding Articles
7531 @section Decoding Articles
7532 @cindex decoding articles
7534 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7535 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7538 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7539 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7540 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7541 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7542 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7543 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7547 @cindex article series
7548 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7549 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7550 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7551 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7552 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7554 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7555 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7556 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7558 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7559 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7560 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7562 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7563 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7564 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7567 @node Uuencoded Articles
7568 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7570 @cindex uuencoded articles
7575 @kindex X u (Summary)
7576 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7577 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7578 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7581 @kindex X U (Summary)
7582 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7583 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7584 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7587 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7588 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7589 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7592 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7593 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7594 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7595 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7599 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7600 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7601 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7602 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7603 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7605 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7606 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7607 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7608 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7611 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7612 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7613 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7614 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7615 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7616 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7620 @node Shell Archives
7621 @subsection Shell Archives
7623 @cindex shell archives
7624 @cindex shared articles
7626 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7627 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7628 some commands to deal with these:
7633 @kindex X s (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7635 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7638 @kindex X S (Summary)
7639 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7640 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7643 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7644 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7645 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7648 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7649 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7650 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7651 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7655 @node PostScript Files
7656 @subsection PostScript Files
7662 @kindex X p (Summary)
7663 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7664 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7667 @kindex X P (Summary)
7668 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7669 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7670 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7673 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7674 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7675 View the current PostScript series
7676 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7679 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7680 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7681 View and save the current PostScript series
7682 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7687 @subsection Other Files
7691 @kindex X o (Summary)
7692 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7693 Save the current series
7694 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7697 @kindex X b (Summary)
7698 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7699 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7700 doesn't really work yet.
7704 @node Decoding Variables
7705 @subsection Decoding Variables
7707 Adjective, not verb.
7710 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7711 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7712 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7716 @node Rule Variables
7717 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7718 @cindex rule variables
7720 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7721 variables are of the form
7724 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7731 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7732 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7734 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7735 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7738 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7739 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7742 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7743 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7744 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7745 user and default view rules.
7747 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7748 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7749 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7754 @node Other Decode Variables
7755 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7758 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7760 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7761 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7762 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7763 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7764 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7768 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7769 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7772 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7773 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7774 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7777 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7778 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7779 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7780 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7781 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7784 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7785 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7786 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7788 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7789 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7790 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7791 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7792 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7795 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7796 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7797 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7799 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7800 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7801 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7802 looking for files to display.
7804 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7805 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7806 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7809 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7810 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7811 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7814 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7815 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7816 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7819 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7820 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7821 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7824 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7825 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7826 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7827 decoded articles as unread.
7829 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7830 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7831 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7832 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7834 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7835 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7836 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7838 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7839 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7841 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7842 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7843 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7844 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7846 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7847 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7848 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7849 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7850 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7851 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7852 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7853 simply dropped them.
7858 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7859 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7863 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7864 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7865 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7866 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7867 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7868 for you when you post the article.
7870 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7871 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7872 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7873 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7875 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7876 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7877 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7878 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7879 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7880 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7881 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7883 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7884 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7885 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7886 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7887 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7888 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7889 Default is @code{t}.
7895 @subsection Viewing Files
7896 @cindex viewing files
7897 @cindex pseudo-articles
7899 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
7900 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
7901 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
7902 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
7903 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
7904 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
7905 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
7907 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
7908 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
7909 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
7910 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
7912 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
7913 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
7914 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
7916 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
7917 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
7918 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
7919 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
7920 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
7922 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
7923 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
7924 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
7925 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
7926 a list of parameters to that command.
7928 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
7929 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
7930 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
7932 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
7933 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
7934 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
7937 @node Article Treatment
7938 @section Article Treatment
7940 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
7941 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
7942 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
7943 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
7944 these articles easier.
7947 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
7948 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
7949 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
7950 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
7951 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
7952 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
7953 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
7954 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
7955 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
7956 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
7957 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
7961 @node Article Highlighting
7962 @subsection Article Highlighting
7963 @cindex highlighting
7965 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7966 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7971 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7972 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7973 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7974 Do much highlighting of the current article
7975 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7976 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7979 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7980 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7981 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7982 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7983 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7984 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7985 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7986 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7987 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7988 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7989 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7990 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7993 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7994 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7995 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7997 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8000 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8002 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8003 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8004 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8006 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8007 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8008 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8010 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8011 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8012 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8013 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8014 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8015 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8017 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8018 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8019 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8021 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8022 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8023 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8025 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8026 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8027 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8028 that it's a citation.
8030 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8031 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8032 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8034 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8035 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8036 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8038 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8039 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8040 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8041 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8047 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8048 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8049 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8050 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8051 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8052 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8053 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8054 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8059 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8062 @node Article Fontisizing
8063 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8065 @cindex article emphasis
8067 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8068 @kindex W e (Summary)
8069 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8070 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8071 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8072 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8074 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8075 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8076 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8077 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8078 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8079 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8080 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8081 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8085 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8086 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8087 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8096 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8097 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8098 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8099 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8100 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8101 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8102 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8103 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8104 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8105 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8106 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8107 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8108 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8110 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8111 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8112 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8116 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8119 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8121 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8122 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8123 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8124 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8126 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8129 @node Article Hiding
8130 @subsection Article Hiding
8131 @cindex article hiding
8133 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8134 too much cruft in most articles.
8139 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8140 @findex gnus-article-hide
8141 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8142 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8143 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8146 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8147 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8148 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8152 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8153 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8154 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8155 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8158 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8159 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8160 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8164 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8165 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8166 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8167 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8168 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8169 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8170 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8171 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8175 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8176 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8177 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8178 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8183 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8184 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8185 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8186 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8189 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8190 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8191 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8192 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8195 @cindex stripping advertisements
8196 @cindex advertisements
8197 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8198 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8199 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8200 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8201 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8202 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8203 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8204 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8205 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8206 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8209 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8210 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8211 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8215 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8216 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8217 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8218 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8219 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8220 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8221 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8222 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8223 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8224 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8225 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8228 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8229 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8235 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8236 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8237 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8238 customizing the hiding:
8242 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8243 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8244 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8245 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8246 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8247 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8248 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8253 Starting point of the hidden text.
8255 Ending point of the hidden text.
8257 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8259 Number of lines of hidden text.
8262 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8263 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8264 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8265 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8266 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8271 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8272 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8274 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8275 following two variables:
8278 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8279 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8280 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8281 50), hide the cited text.
8283 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8284 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8285 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8290 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8291 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8292 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8293 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8294 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8295 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8299 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8300 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8301 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8303 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8304 citation customization.
8306 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8310 @node Article Washing
8311 @subsection Article Washing
8313 @cindex article washing
8315 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8316 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8318 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8319 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8322 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8323 articles by default.
8328 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8329 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8333 Force redisplaying of the current article
8334 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8335 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8336 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8337 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8340 @kindex W l (Summary)
8341 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8342 Remove page breaks from the current article
8343 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8347 @kindex W r (Summary)
8348 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8349 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8350 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8351 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8352 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8353 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8355 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8356 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8357 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8358 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8361 @kindex W m (Summary)
8362 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8363 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8367 @kindex W t (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8370 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8371 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8374 @kindex W v (Summary)
8375 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8376 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8377 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8380 @kindex W o (Summary)
8381 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8382 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8385 @kindex W d (Summary)
8386 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8387 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8389 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8391 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8392 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8393 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8394 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8397 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8398 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8399 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8400 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8403 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8404 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8405 @cindex Outlook Express
8406 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8407 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8408 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8411 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8412 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8413 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8414 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8415 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8416 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8417 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8418 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8419 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8420 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8423 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8424 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8425 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8426 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8429 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8430 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8431 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8432 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8435 @kindex W w (Summary)
8436 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8437 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8439 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8443 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8444 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8445 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8448 @kindex W C (Summary)
8449 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8450 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8451 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8454 @kindex W c (Summary)
8455 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8456 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8457 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8458 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8459 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8462 @kindex W q (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8464 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8465 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8466 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8467 makes strings like @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which
8468 doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually done
8469 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8470 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8471 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8474 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8475 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8476 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8477 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8478 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8479 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8480 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8481 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8484 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8485 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8486 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8487 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8488 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8491 @kindex W u (Summary)
8492 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8493 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8494 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8495 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8496 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8499 @kindex W h (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8501 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8502 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8503 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8505 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8507 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8508 The default is to use the function specified by
8509 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8510 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8511 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8512 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8520 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8523 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8526 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8529 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8534 @kindex W b (Summary)
8535 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8536 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8537 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8540 @kindex W B (Summary)
8541 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8542 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8543 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8546 @kindex W p (Summary)
8547 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8548 Verify a signed control message
8549 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8550 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8551 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8552 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8553 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8554 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8557 @kindex W s (Summary)
8558 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8559 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8560 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8561 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8564 @kindex W a (Summary)
8565 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8566 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8567 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8570 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8571 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8572 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8573 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8576 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8578 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8579 lines with a single empty line.
8580 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8583 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8584 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8585 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8586 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8589 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8590 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8591 Do all the three commands above
8592 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8595 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8596 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8597 Remove all blank lines
8598 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8601 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8602 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8603 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8604 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8607 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8608 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8609 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8610 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8614 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8617 @node Article Header
8618 @subsection Article Header
8620 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8625 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8626 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8627 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8630 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8631 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8632 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8633 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8636 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8637 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8638 Fold all the message headers
8639 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8643 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8644 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8645 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8650 @node Article Buttons
8651 @subsection Article Buttons
8654 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8655 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8656 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8657 button on these references.
8659 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8660 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8661 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8662 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8663 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8667 @item gnus-button-alist
8668 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8669 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8672 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8678 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8679 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8680 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8681 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8682 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8685 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8686 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8687 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8690 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8691 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8692 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8693 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8694 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8696 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8699 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8702 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8703 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8707 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8710 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8713 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8714 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8715 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8716 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8717 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8720 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8723 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8726 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8729 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8730 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8732 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8734 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8735 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8736 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8737 default values of the variables above.
8739 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8741 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8742 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8743 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8744 argument with a string naming the man page.
8746 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8748 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8749 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8750 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8752 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8753 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8754 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8755 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8756 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8757 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8758 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8759 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8760 function will be called with the string as it's only argument. The
8761 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8762 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8763 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8765 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8766 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8767 Function that guesses whether it's argument is a message ID or a mail
8768 address. Returns @code{mid} it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if it's a
8769 mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the string is
8772 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8773 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8774 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8775 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8777 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8779 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8780 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8781 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8782 argument, the string naming the URL.
8785 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8786 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8787 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8791 @item gnus-article-button-face
8792 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8793 Face used on buttons.
8795 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8796 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8797 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8801 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8804 @node Article Button Levels
8805 @subsection Article button levels
8806 @cindex button levels
8807 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8808 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8809 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8810 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8811 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8812 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8813 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8814 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8817 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8818 (setq gnus-parameters
8819 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8820 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8821 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8826 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8827 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8828 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8829 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8830 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8831 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8833 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8834 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8835 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8836 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8837 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8838 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8839 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8840 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8841 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8842 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8843 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8844 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8845 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8847 @item gnus-button-man-level
8848 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8849 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8850 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8852 @item gnus-button-message-level
8853 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8854 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8855 Related variables and functions include
8856 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8857 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8858 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8859 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8861 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8862 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8863 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8864 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8865 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8866 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8867 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8873 @subsection Article Date
8875 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8876 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8877 when the article was sent.
8882 @kindex W T u (Summary)
8883 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
8884 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
8885 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
8888 @kindex W T i (Summary)
8889 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
8891 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
8892 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
8895 @kindex W T l (Summary)
8896 @findex gnus-article-date-local
8897 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
8900 @kindex W T p (Summary)
8901 @findex gnus-article-date-english
8902 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
8903 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
8906 @kindex W T s (Summary)
8907 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
8908 @findex gnus-article-date-user
8909 @findex format-time-string
8910 Display the date using a user-defined format
8911 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
8912 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
8913 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
8914 for a list of possible format specs.
8917 @kindex W T e (Summary)
8918 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
8919 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
8920 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
8921 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
8922 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
8925 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
8928 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
8929 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
8930 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
8933 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
8934 into wonderful absurdities.
8936 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
8939 (gnus-start-date-timer)
8942 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
8943 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
8947 @kindex W T o (Summary)
8948 @findex gnus-article-date-original
8949 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
8950 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
8951 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
8952 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
8953 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
8957 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
8958 preferred format automatically.
8961 @node Article Display
8962 @subsection Article Display
8967 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
8968 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
8970 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
8971 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
8973 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
8974 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
8976 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
8977 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
8979 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
8984 @kindex W D x (Summary)
8985 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
8986 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
8987 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
8990 @kindex W D d (Summary)
8991 @findex gnus-article-display-face
8992 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
8993 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
8996 @kindex W D s (Summary)
8997 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
8998 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9001 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9002 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9003 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9006 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9007 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9008 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9009 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9012 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9013 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9014 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9015 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9018 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9019 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9020 Remove all images from the article buffer
9021 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9027 @node Article Signature
9028 @subsection Article Signature
9030 @cindex article signature
9032 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9033 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9034 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9035 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9036 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9037 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9038 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9039 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9040 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9043 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9044 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9045 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9046 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9047 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9048 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9049 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9050 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9053 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9056 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9057 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9058 signature when displaying articles.
9062 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9065 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9068 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9069 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9071 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9072 in question is not a signature.
9075 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9076 listed above. Here's an example:
9079 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9080 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9083 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9084 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9085 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9086 signature after all.
9089 @node Article Miscellanea
9090 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9094 @kindex A t (Summary)
9095 @findex gnus-article-babel
9096 Translate the article from one language to another
9097 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9103 @section MIME Commands
9104 @cindex MIME decoding
9106 @cindex viewing attachments
9108 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9109 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9115 @kindex K v (Summary)
9116 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9119 @kindex K o (Summary)
9120 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9123 @kindex K c (Summary)
9124 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9127 @kindex K e (Summary)
9128 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9131 @kindex K i (Summary)
9132 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9135 @kindex K | (Summary)
9136 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9139 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9144 @kindex K b (Summary)
9145 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9146 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9150 @kindex K m (Summary)
9151 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9152 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9153 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9154 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9155 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9158 @kindex X m (Summary)
9159 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9160 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9161 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9162 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9165 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9166 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9167 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9168 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9171 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9172 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9173 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9174 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9177 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9178 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9179 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9180 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9182 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9183 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9184 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9185 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9186 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9187 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9190 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9191 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9192 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9193 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9200 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9201 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9202 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9203 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9206 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9209 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9213 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9214 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9215 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't required the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9216 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9217 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9218 default is @code{nil}.
9220 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9221 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9222 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9223 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9224 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9225 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9226 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9228 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9229 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9230 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9231 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9232 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9233 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9234 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9235 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9237 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9238 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9239 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9240 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9241 displayed. This variable overrides
9242 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9243 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9246 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9247 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9248 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9250 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9251 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9252 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9253 default value is @code{nil}.
9255 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9256 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9257 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9258 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9259 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9260 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9261 save all jpegs into some directory).
9263 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9266 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9267 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9269 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9270 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9271 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9272 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9273 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9276 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9277 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9278 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9280 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9281 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9282 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9283 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9285 Ready-made functions include@*
9286 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9287 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9288 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9289 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9290 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9291 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9292 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9293 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9294 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9295 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9296 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9297 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9299 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9300 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9302 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9303 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9304 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9307 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9308 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9309 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9310 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9314 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9323 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9324 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9325 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9326 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9327 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9328 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9329 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9331 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9332 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9333 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9334 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9336 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9337 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9338 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9339 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9340 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9341 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9342 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9343 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9344 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9346 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9347 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9348 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9349 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9350 quoted-printable header encoding.
9352 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9353 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9354 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9358 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9361 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9362 means encode all charsets),
9364 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9365 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9366 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9373 @cindex coding system aliases
9374 @cindex preferred charset
9376 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9378 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9379 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9382 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9383 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9386 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9387 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9389 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9392 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9395 This will almost do the right thing.
9397 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9401 (codepage-setup 1251)
9402 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9406 @node Article Commands
9407 @section Article Commands
9414 @kindex A P (Summary)
9415 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9416 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9417 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9418 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9419 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9420 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9425 @node Summary Sorting
9426 @section Summary Sorting
9427 @cindex summary sorting
9429 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9430 can't really see why you'd want that.
9435 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9436 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9437 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9440 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9441 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9442 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9445 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9446 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9447 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9450 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9451 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9452 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9455 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9456 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9457 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9460 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9461 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9462 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9465 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9466 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9467 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9470 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9471 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9472 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9475 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9476 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9477 Sort using the default sorting method
9478 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9481 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9482 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9483 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9484 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9485 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9489 @node Finding the Parent
9490 @section Finding the Parent
9491 @cindex parent articles
9492 @cindex referring articles
9497 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9498 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9499 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9500 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9501 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9502 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9503 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9504 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9505 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9507 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9508 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9509 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9510 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9511 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9515 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9516 @kindex A R (Summary)
9517 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9518 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9521 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9522 @kindex A T (Summary)
9523 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9524 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9525 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9526 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9527 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9528 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9529 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9531 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9532 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9533 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9534 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9535 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9536 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9539 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9540 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9542 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9543 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9544 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9545 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9546 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9547 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9548 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9551 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9552 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9553 by giving this command a prefix.
9555 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9556 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9557 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9558 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9559 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9560 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9563 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9564 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9565 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9568 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9569 then ask Google if that fails:
9572 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9574 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9577 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9578 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9579 @code{nnbabyl}, and @code{nnmaildir} are able to locate articles from
9580 any groups, while @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9581 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current group.
9582 (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not
9583 support this at all.
9586 @node Alternative Approaches
9587 @section Alternative Approaches
9589 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9590 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9593 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9594 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9599 @subsection Pick and Read
9600 @cindex pick and read
9602 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9603 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9604 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9605 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9607 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9608 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9609 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9610 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9611 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9612 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9614 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9619 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9620 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9621 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9622 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9623 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9624 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9625 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9626 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9629 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9630 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9631 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9632 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9636 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9637 Unpick the thread or article
9638 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9639 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9640 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9641 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9642 the thread or article at that line.
9646 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9647 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9648 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9649 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9650 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9651 will still be visible when you are reading.
9655 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9656 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9657 which is mapped to the same function
9658 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9660 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9663 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9666 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9667 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9669 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9670 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9671 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9673 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9674 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9675 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9676 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9677 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9678 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9679 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9683 @subsection Binary Groups
9684 @cindex binary groups
9686 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9687 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9688 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9689 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9690 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9691 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9692 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9695 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9696 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9697 command, when you have turned on this mode
9698 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9700 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9701 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9705 @section Tree Display
9708 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9709 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9710 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9711 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9714 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9717 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9718 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9719 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9721 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9722 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9723 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9724 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9725 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9727 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9728 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9729 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9730 default is @code{modeline}.
9732 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9733 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9734 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9735 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9736 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9737 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9738 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9744 The name of the poster.
9746 The @code{From} header.
9748 The number of the article.
9750 The opening bracket.
9752 The closing bracket.
9757 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9759 Variables related to the display are:
9762 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9763 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9764 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9765 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9767 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9768 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9769 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9771 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9773 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9774 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9775 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9776 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9780 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9781 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9782 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9783 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9784 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9785 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9786 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9787 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9788 other windows displayed next to it.
9790 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9794 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9795 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9798 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9799 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9800 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9801 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9802 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9803 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9804 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9808 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9811 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9821 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9826 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9827 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9829 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9831 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9837 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9838 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9839 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9842 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9843 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9844 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9845 (gnus-add-configuration
9849 (summary 0.75 point)
9854 @xref{Window Layout}.
9857 @node Mail Group Commands
9858 @section Mail Group Commands
9859 @cindex mail group commands
9861 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
9862 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
9864 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
9865 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9870 @kindex B e (Summary)
9871 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
9872 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
9873 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
9874 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
9875 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
9878 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
9879 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
9880 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
9881 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
9882 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
9883 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
9886 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
9887 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
9888 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
9889 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
9890 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
9891 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
9894 @kindex B m (Summary)
9896 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
9897 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
9898 Move the article from one mail group to another
9899 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9900 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9903 @kindex B c (Summary)
9905 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
9906 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
9907 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
9908 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
9909 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
9912 @kindex B B (Summary)
9913 @cindex crosspost mail
9914 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
9915 Crosspost the current article to some other group
9916 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
9917 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
9918 be properly updated.
9921 @kindex B i (Summary)
9922 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
9923 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
9924 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
9925 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9928 @kindex B I (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
9930 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
9931 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
9932 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
9935 @kindex B r (Summary)
9936 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
9937 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
9938 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
9939 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
9940 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
9941 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
9942 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
9943 (which is the default).
9947 @kindex B w (Summary)
9949 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
9950 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
9951 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
9952 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
9953 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
9954 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
9955 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
9958 @kindex B q (Summary)
9959 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
9960 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
9961 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
9962 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
9965 @kindex B t (Summary)
9966 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
9967 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
9968 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
9971 @kindex B p (Summary)
9972 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
9973 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
9974 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
9975 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
9976 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
9977 article from your news server (or rather, from
9978 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
9979 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
9980 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
9981 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
9982 just not have arrived yet.
9985 @kindex K E (Summary)
9986 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
9987 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
9988 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
9989 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
9990 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
9994 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
9995 @cindex moving articles
9996 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
9997 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
9998 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
9999 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10000 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10001 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10002 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10005 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10006 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10007 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10008 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10012 @node Various Summary Stuff
10013 @section Various Summary Stuff
10016 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10017 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10018 * Summary Generation Commands::
10019 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10023 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10024 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10025 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10026 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10027 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10028 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10030 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10031 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10032 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10035 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10036 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10037 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10039 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10040 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10041 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10042 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10043 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10044 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10047 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10048 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10049 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10050 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10051 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10053 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10054 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10055 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10058 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10059 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10060 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10061 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10062 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10063 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10064 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10065 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10066 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10067 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10069 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10070 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10071 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10072 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10073 list of articles to be selected.
10075 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10076 the list in one particular group:
10079 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10080 (if (string= group "some.group")
10081 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10085 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10086 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10087 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10088 variables and their default values (when the default values are not
10089 @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary buffer is
10090 active. These variables can be used to set variables in the group
10091 parameters while still allowing them to affect operations done in
10092 other buffers. For example:
10095 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10096 '(message-use-followup-to
10097 (gnus-visible-headers .
10098 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10104 @node Summary Group Information
10105 @subsection Summary Group Information
10110 @kindex H f (Summary)
10111 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10112 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10113 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10114 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10115 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10116 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10117 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10118 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10119 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10122 @kindex H d (Summary)
10123 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10124 Give a brief description of the current group
10125 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10126 rereading the description from the server.
10129 @kindex H h (Summary)
10130 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10131 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10132 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10135 @kindex H i (Summary)
10136 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10137 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10141 @node Searching for Articles
10142 @subsection Searching for Articles
10147 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10148 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10149 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10150 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10153 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10154 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10155 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10156 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10159 @kindex & (Summary)
10160 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10161 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10162 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10163 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10164 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10165 search backward instead.
10167 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
10168 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10171 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10172 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10173 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10174 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10177 @node Summary Generation Commands
10178 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10183 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10184 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10185 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10188 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10189 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10190 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10191 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10194 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10195 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10196 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10197 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10202 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10203 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10209 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10210 @kindex A D (Summary)
10211 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10212 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10213 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10214 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10215 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10216 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10217 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10218 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10222 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10223 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10224 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10225 several documents into one biiig group
10226 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10227 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10228 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10229 command understands the process/prefix convention
10230 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10233 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10234 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10235 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10236 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10237 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10238 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10241 @kindex = (Summary)
10242 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10243 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10244 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10247 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10248 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10249 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10250 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10253 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10254 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10255 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10256 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10261 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10262 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10263 @cindex summary exit
10264 @cindex exiting groups
10266 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10267 group and return you to the group buffer.
10273 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10274 @kindex q (Summary)
10275 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10276 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10277 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10278 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10279 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10280 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10281 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10282 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10283 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10284 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10285 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10286 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10290 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10291 @kindex Q (Summary)
10292 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10293 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10294 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10298 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10299 @kindex c (Summary)
10300 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10301 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10302 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10303 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10306 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10307 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10308 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10309 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10312 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10313 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10314 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10315 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10318 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10319 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10320 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10321 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10322 all articles, both read and unread.
10326 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10327 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10328 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10329 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10330 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10331 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10332 articles, both read and unread.
10335 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10336 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10337 Exit the group and go to the next group
10338 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10341 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10342 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10343 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10344 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10347 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10348 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10349 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10350 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10351 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10352 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10355 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10356 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10357 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10358 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10360 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10361 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10362 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10363 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10364 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10365 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10366 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10367 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10368 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10369 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10370 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10371 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10373 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10375 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10376 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10377 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10378 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10379 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10380 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10381 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10382 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10383 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10386 @node Crosspost Handling
10387 @section Crosspost Handling
10391 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10392 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10393 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10394 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10395 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10396 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10399 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10400 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10401 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10402 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10403 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10405 @cindex cross-posting
10407 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10408 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10409 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10410 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10411 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10412 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10413 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10414 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10415 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10416 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10417 the cross reference mechanism.
10419 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10420 @cindex overview.fmt
10421 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10422 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10423 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10424 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10425 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10426 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10429 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10430 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10431 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10436 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10439 @node Duplicate Suppression
10440 @section Duplicate Suppression
10442 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10443 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10444 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10445 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10450 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10451 is evil and not very common.
10454 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10455 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10458 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10459 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10462 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10465 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10466 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10468 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10469 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10470 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10471 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10472 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10473 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10474 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10477 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10478 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10479 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10480 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10481 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10482 saw the article in.
10485 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10486 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10487 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10489 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10490 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10491 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10492 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10493 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10494 session are suppressed.
10496 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10497 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10498 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10499 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10501 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10502 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10503 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10504 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10507 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10508 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10509 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10510 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10511 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10512 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10513 to you to figure out, I think.
10518 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10519 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10520 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10525 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10526 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10527 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10528 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10531 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10532 or newer is recommended.
10536 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10537 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10540 @item mm-verify-option
10541 @vindex mm-verify-option
10542 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10543 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10544 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10546 @item mm-decrypt-option
10547 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10548 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10549 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10550 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10553 @vindex mml1991-use
10554 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10555 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10556 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10560 @vindex mml2015-use
10561 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10562 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10563 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10568 @cindex snarfing keys
10569 @cindex importing PGP keys
10570 @cindex PGP key ring import
10571 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10572 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10573 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10574 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10575 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10576 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10577 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10578 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10579 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10582 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10585 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10586 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10589 @section Mailing List
10591 @kindex A M (summary)
10592 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10593 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10594 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10595 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10598 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10603 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10604 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10605 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10608 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10609 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10610 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10613 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10614 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10615 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10619 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10620 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10621 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10624 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10625 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10626 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10629 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10630 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10631 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10636 @node Article Buffer
10637 @chapter Article Buffer
10638 @cindex article buffer
10640 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10641 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10642 tell Gnus otherwise.
10645 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10646 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10647 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10648 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10649 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10653 @node Hiding Headers
10654 @section Hiding Headers
10655 @cindex hiding headers
10656 @cindex deleting headers
10658 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10659 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10661 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10662 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10663 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10664 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10665 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10666 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10667 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10668 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10669 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10671 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10675 @item gnus-visible-headers
10676 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10677 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10678 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10679 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10681 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10682 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10685 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10688 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10691 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10692 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10693 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10694 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10695 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10696 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10698 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10699 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10702 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10705 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10708 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10709 variable will have no effect.
10713 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10714 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10715 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10716 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10717 the headers are to be displayed.
10719 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10720 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10723 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10726 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10727 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10729 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10730 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10731 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10732 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10733 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10734 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
10735 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10738 These conditions are:
10741 Remove all empty headers.
10743 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10744 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10746 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
10747 @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter is
10750 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10753 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10754 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
10756 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10757 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10759 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10760 the current groups's @code{to-list} parameter.
10762 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10765 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10767 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10770 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10773 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10774 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10777 This is also the default value for this variable.
10781 @section Using MIME
10782 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10784 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10785 while people stand around yawning.
10787 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10788 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10790 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10791 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10792 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10794 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10795 @findex gnus-display-mime
10796 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10797 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10798 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10799 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
10801 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10802 @acronym{MIME} button:
10805 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10806 @item RET (Article)
10807 @kindex RET (Article)
10808 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10809 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
10810 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
10811 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10812 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10813 object is displayed inline.
10815 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10816 @item M-RET (Article)
10817 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10819 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10820 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10822 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10824 @kindex t (Article)
10825 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
10826 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10828 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10830 @kindex C (Article)
10831 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10832 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10834 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
10836 @kindex o (Article)
10837 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
10838 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
10840 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
10841 @item C-o (Article)
10842 @kindex C-o (Article)
10843 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
10844 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
10845 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
10846 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
10847 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
10848 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
10850 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
10852 @kindex d (Article)
10853 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
10854 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
10855 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
10857 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
10859 @kindex c (Article)
10860 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
10861 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
10862 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
10863 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
10864 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
10866 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
10868 @kindex p (Article)
10869 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
10870 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
10871 @file{.mailcap} file.
10873 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
10875 @kindex i (Article)
10876 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
10877 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
10878 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
10879 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
10880 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @pxref{Paging the
10883 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
10885 @kindex E (Article)
10886 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
10887 viewer is available, use an external viewer
10888 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
10890 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
10892 @kindex e (Article)
10893 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
10894 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
10896 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
10898 @kindex | (Article)
10899 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
10901 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
10903 @kindex . (Article)
10904 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
10905 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
10909 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
10910 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
10911 @acronym{MIME} manual.
10913 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
10914 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
10915 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
10916 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
10917 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
10918 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
10919 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
10920 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
10921 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
10923 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
10925 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
10928 @node Customizing Articles
10929 @section Customizing Articles
10930 @cindex article customization
10932 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
10933 exist. You can call these functions interactively
10934 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
10935 called automatically when you select the articles.
10937 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
10938 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
10939 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
10940 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
10942 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
10943 for sensible values.
10947 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
10950 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
10953 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
10956 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
10959 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
10963 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
10964 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
10965 regexps in the list.
10968 A list where the first element is not a string:
10970 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
10971 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
10972 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
10976 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
10981 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
10982 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
10983 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
10984 considered to contain just a single part.
10986 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
10987 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
10988 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
10989 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
10990 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
10991 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
10992 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
10994 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
10995 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
10996 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
10997 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11000 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11001 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11003 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11005 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11006 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11007 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11008 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11009 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11010 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11011 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11012 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11013 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11014 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11016 @xref{Article Washing}.
11018 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11019 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11020 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11021 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11022 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11023 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11024 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11026 @xref{Article Date}.
11028 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11029 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11030 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11034 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11036 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11038 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11039 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11040 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11044 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
11048 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11049 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11050 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11051 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11052 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11053 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11054 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11055 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11056 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11057 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11059 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11061 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11062 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11063 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11065 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11067 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11068 @item gnus-treat-translate
11069 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11071 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11072 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11073 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11074 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11076 @xref{Article Header}.
11081 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11082 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11083 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11084 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11085 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11089 @node Article Keymap
11090 @section Article Keymap
11092 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11093 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11094 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11095 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11098 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11103 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11104 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11105 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11106 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11109 @kindex DEL (Article)
11110 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11111 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11112 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11115 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11116 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11117 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11118 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11119 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11122 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11123 @findex gnus-article-mail
11124 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11125 given a prefix, include the mail.
11128 @kindex s (Article)
11129 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11130 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11131 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11134 @kindex ? (Article)
11135 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11136 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11137 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11140 @kindex TAB (Article)
11141 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11142 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11143 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11146 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11147 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11148 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11151 @kindex R (Article)
11152 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11153 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11154 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11155 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11159 @kindex F (Article)
11160 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11161 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11162 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11163 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11171 @section Misc Article
11175 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11176 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11177 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11178 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11181 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11182 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11184 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11185 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11187 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11188 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11189 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11190 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11191 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11192 the contents of the article buffer.
11194 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11195 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11196 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11198 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11199 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11200 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11201 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11203 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11204 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11205 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11206 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11208 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11209 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11210 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11211 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
11212 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
11218 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11219 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11220 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11225 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11228 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11231 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11232 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11233 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11236 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11239 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11242 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11247 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11251 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11253 @item gnus-break-pages
11254 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11255 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11256 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11257 paging will not be done.
11259 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11260 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11261 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11265 @cindex internationalized domain names
11266 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11267 @item gnus-use-idna
11268 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11269 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11270 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11271 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11272 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11277 @node Composing Messages
11278 @chapter Composing Messages
11279 @cindex composing messages
11282 @cindex sending mail
11287 @cindex using s/mime
11288 @cindex using smime
11290 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11291 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11292 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11293 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11294 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11295 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11298 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11299 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11300 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11301 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11302 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11303 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11304 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11305 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11308 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11309 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11315 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11318 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11319 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11320 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11321 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11322 @code{nil} include all headers.
11324 @item gnus-add-to-list
11325 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11326 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11327 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11329 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11330 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11331 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11332 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11333 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11334 confirmation is should be asked for.
11336 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11337 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11339 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11340 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11341 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11342 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11343 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11348 @node Posting Server
11349 @section Posting Server
11351 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11352 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11354 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11356 It can be quite complicated.
11358 @vindex gnus-post-method
11359 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11360 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11361 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11362 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11363 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11364 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11365 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11366 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11367 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11370 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11373 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11374 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11375 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11376 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11378 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11379 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11381 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11382 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11385 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11386 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11388 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11389 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11390 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11391 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11392 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11393 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11394 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11395 package correctly. An example:
11398 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11399 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11402 To the thing similar to this, there is
11403 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your ISP requires
11404 the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. See the
11405 documentation for the function @code{mail-source-touch-pop}.
11407 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11408 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11409 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11411 @node Mail and Post
11412 @section Mail and Post
11414 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11418 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11419 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11420 @cindex mailing lists
11422 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11423 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11424 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11425 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11426 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11427 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11428 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11429 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11430 still a pain, though.
11432 @item gnus-user-agent
11433 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11436 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11437 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11438 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11439 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11440 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11441 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11442 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11446 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11447 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11448 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11451 @findex ispell-message
11453 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11456 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11457 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11460 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11464 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11465 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11467 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11470 Modify to suit your needs.
11473 @node Archived Messages
11474 @section Archived Messages
11475 @cindex archived messages
11476 @cindex sent messages
11478 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11479 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11480 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11481 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11484 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11485 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11488 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11489 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11490 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11493 (nnfolder "archive"
11494 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11495 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11496 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11497 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11500 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11501 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11502 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11503 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11506 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11507 '(nnfolder "archive"
11508 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11509 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11510 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11513 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11515 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11516 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11517 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11519 This variable can be used to do the following:
11524 Messages will be saved in that group.
11526 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11527 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11528 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11529 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11530 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11531 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11532 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11533 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11537 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11539 an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11540 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11543 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11548 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11550 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11553 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11555 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11558 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11560 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11561 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11562 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11563 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11566 More complex stuff:
11568 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11569 '((if (message-news-p)
11574 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11575 messages in one file per month:
11578 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11579 '((if (message-news-p)
11581 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11584 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11585 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11587 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11588 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11589 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11590 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11591 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11592 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11593 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11594 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11595 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11596 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11598 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11599 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11600 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11601 this will disable archiving.
11604 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11605 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11606 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11607 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11608 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11611 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11612 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11613 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11616 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11617 but the latter is the preferred method.
11619 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11620 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11621 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11623 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11624 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11625 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11626 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11627 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11628 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11629 changed in the future.
11634 @node Posting Styles
11635 @section Posting Styles
11636 @cindex posting styles
11639 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11641 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11642 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11643 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11646 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11647 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11648 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11649 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11650 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11655 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11656 (organization "What me?"))
11658 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11659 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11660 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11663 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11664 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11665 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11666 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11667 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11668 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11669 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11670 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11672 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11673 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11674 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11675 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11676 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11677 @var{regexp} are strings. (There original article is the one you are
11678 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11679 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11680 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11681 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11682 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11683 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11684 said to @dfn{match}.
11686 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11687 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11688 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
11689 @code{x-face-file}, @code{address} (overriding
11690 @code{user-mail-address}), @code{name} (overriding
11691 @code{(user-full-name)}) or @code{body}. The attribute name can also
11692 be a string or a symbol. In that case, this will be used as a header
11693 name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article; if
11694 the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed. If the
11695 attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the result
11698 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11699 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11700 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11701 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11702 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11703 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11704 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11705 references chars lines xref extra.
11707 @vindex message-reply-headers
11709 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11710 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11711 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11713 @findex message-mail-p
11714 @findex message-news-p
11716 So here's a new example:
11719 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11721 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11723 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11724 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11726 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11727 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11728 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11729 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11730 (signature my-news-signature))
11731 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11732 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11733 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11734 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11735 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11736 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11737 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11738 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11739 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11740 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11742 (From (save-excursion
11743 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11744 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11746 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11749 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11750 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11751 if you fill many roles.
11758 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11759 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11760 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11761 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11762 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11764 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11765 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11766 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11767 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11768 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
11772 @vindex nndraft-directory
11773 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
11774 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
11775 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
11776 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
11777 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
11778 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
11780 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
11781 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
11782 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
11783 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
11784 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
11785 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
11786 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
11787 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
11788 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
11790 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
11791 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
11792 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
11793 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
11794 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
11795 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
11796 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
11797 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
11798 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
11799 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
11800 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
11801 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
11802 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
11803 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
11805 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
11806 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
11807 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
11809 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
11810 @kindex D e (Draft)
11811 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
11812 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
11813 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
11815 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
11818 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
11819 @kindex D s (Draft)
11820 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
11821 @kindex D S (Draft)
11822 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
11823 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
11824 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
11825 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
11826 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
11829 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
11830 @kindex D t (Draft)
11831 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
11832 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
11833 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
11836 @node Rejected Articles
11837 @section Rejected Articles
11838 @cindex rejected articles
11840 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
11841 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
11842 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
11843 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
11845 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
11846 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
11847 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
11848 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
11849 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
11851 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
11852 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
11853 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
11855 @node Signing and encrypting
11856 @section Signing and encrypting
11858 @cindex using s/mime
11859 @cindex using smime
11861 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
11862 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
11863 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
11864 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
11866 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
11867 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
11868 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
11869 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
11870 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
11871 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
11872 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
11873 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
11874 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
11875 automatically encrypted messages.
11877 Instructing MML to perform security operations on a @acronym{MIME} part is
11878 done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for signing and the @kbd{C-c
11879 C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
11884 @kindex C-c C-m s s
11885 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
11887 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11890 @kindex C-c C-m s o
11891 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11893 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11896 @kindex C-c C-m s p
11897 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
11899 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11902 @kindex C-c C-m c s
11903 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
11905 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
11908 @kindex C-c C-m c o
11909 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
11911 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
11914 @kindex C-c C-m c p
11915 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
11917 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
11920 @kindex C-c C-m C-n
11921 @findex mml-unsecure-message
11922 Remove security related MML tags from message.
11926 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
11928 @node Select Methods
11929 @chapter Select Methods
11930 @cindex foreign groups
11931 @cindex select methods
11933 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
11934 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
11935 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
11936 personal mail group.
11938 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
11939 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
11940 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
11941 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
11942 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
11943 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
11945 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
11946 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
11948 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
11951 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
11952 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
11953 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
11954 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
11955 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
11957 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
11960 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
11961 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
11962 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
11963 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
11964 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
11965 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
11966 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
11967 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
11971 @node Server Buffer
11972 @section Server Buffer
11974 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
11975 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
11976 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
11977 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
11978 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
11979 back end represents a virtual server.
11981 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
11982 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
11983 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
11984 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
11986 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
11987 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
11988 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
11989 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
11990 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
11991 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
11992 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
11994 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
11995 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
11998 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
11999 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12000 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12001 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12002 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12003 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12004 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12007 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12008 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12011 @node Server Buffer Format
12012 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12013 @cindex server buffer format
12015 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12016 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12017 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12018 variable, with some simple extensions:
12023 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12026 The name of this server.
12029 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12032 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12035 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12036 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12037 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12038 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12048 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12051 @node Server Commands
12052 @subsection Server Commands
12053 @cindex server commands
12059 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12060 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12064 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12065 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12068 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12069 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12070 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12074 @findex gnus-server-exit
12075 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12079 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12080 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12084 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12085 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12089 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12090 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12094 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12095 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12099 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12100 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12101 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12106 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12107 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12108 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12109 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12114 @node Example Methods
12115 @subsection Example Methods
12117 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12120 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12123 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12129 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12130 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12133 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12134 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12136 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12137 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12141 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12144 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12145 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12147 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12148 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12149 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12153 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12156 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12159 Here's the method for a public spool:
12163 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12164 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12170 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12171 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12172 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12173 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12174 should probably look something like this:
12178 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12179 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12180 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12181 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12184 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12185 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12186 configuration to the example above:
12189 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12192 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12194 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12195 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12196 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12200 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12201 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12202 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12203 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12206 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12207 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12208 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12209 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12212 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12213 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12215 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12216 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12218 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12219 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
12220 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12222 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
12224 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
12225 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12226 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12227 will contain the following:
12237 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
12238 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
12239 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12242 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12243 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12244 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12247 @node Server Variables
12248 @subsection Server Variables
12249 @cindex server variables
12250 @cindex server parameters
12252 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12253 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12254 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12255 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12256 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12258 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12259 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12260 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12261 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12262 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12263 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12264 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12265 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12266 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12270 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12271 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12272 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12275 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12277 @node Servers and Methods
12278 @subsection Servers and Methods
12280 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12281 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12282 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12283 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12287 @node Unavailable Servers
12288 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12290 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12291 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12292 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12293 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12294 actually the case or not.
12296 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12297 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12298 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12299 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12300 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12301 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12302 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12303 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12305 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12306 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12308 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12309 with the following commands:
12315 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12316 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12317 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12321 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12322 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12323 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12327 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12328 Mark the current server as unreachable
12329 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12332 @kindex M-o (Server)
12333 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12334 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12335 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12338 @kindex M-c (Server)
12339 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12340 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12341 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12345 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12346 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12347 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12351 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12352 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12358 @section Getting News
12359 @cindex reading news
12360 @cindex news back ends
12362 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12363 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12364 or it can read from a local spool.
12367 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12368 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12376 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12377 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12378 server as the, uhm, address.
12380 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12381 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12382 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12383 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12385 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12386 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12387 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12389 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12394 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12395 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12396 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12398 @cindex authentification
12399 @cindex nntp authentification
12400 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12401 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12402 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12403 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12404 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12405 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12406 present in this hook.
12408 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12409 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12410 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12411 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12412 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12413 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12414 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12415 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12416 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12417 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12418 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12419 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12423 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12426 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12428 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12429 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12430 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12431 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12432 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12433 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12434 @samp{force} is explained below.
12438 Here's an example file:
12441 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12442 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12445 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12446 have to be first, for instance.
12448 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12449 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12450 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12451 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12452 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12453 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12454 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12456 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12457 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12463 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12464 previously mentioned.
12466 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12468 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12469 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12470 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12471 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12472 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12475 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12476 '(("innd" (ding))))
12479 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12481 The default value is
12484 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12485 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12486 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12489 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12490 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12492 @item nntp-maximum-request
12493 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12494 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12495 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12496 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12497 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12498 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12499 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12501 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12502 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12503 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12504 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12505 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12506 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12507 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12508 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12509 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12510 no timeouts are done.
12512 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12513 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12514 @c @cindex PPP connections
12515 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12516 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12517 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12518 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12519 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12520 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12521 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12522 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12523 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12524 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12526 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12527 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12528 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12529 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12530 @c described above.
12532 @item nntp-server-hook
12533 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12534 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12537 @item nntp-buggy-select
12538 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12539 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12541 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12542 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12543 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12544 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12547 @item nntp-xover-commands
12548 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12551 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12552 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12556 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12557 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12558 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12559 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12560 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12561 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12562 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12563 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12564 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12565 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12566 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12568 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12569 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12570 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12572 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12573 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12574 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12575 server closes connection.
12577 @item nntp-record-commands
12578 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12579 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12580 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12581 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12582 that doesn't seem to work.
12584 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12585 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12586 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12587 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12588 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12589 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12590 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12591 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12593 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12594 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12595 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12596 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12597 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12598 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12599 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12602 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12605 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12606 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12608 @item nntp-read-timeout
12609 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12610 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12611 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12612 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12613 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12619 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12620 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12621 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12625 @node Direct Functions
12626 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12627 @cindex direct connection functions
12629 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12630 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12631 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12632 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12635 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12636 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12637 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12640 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12641 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12642 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12643 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12644 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12647 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12648 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12650 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12651 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12652 (nntp-port-number )
12653 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12656 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12657 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12658 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12659 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12660 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12661 then define a server as follows:
12664 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12665 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12667 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12668 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12669 (nntp-port-number 563)
12670 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12673 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12674 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12675 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12676 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12677 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12678 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12679 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12680 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12684 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12685 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12686 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12689 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12690 session, which is not a good idea.
12694 @node Indirect Functions
12695 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12696 @cindex indirect connection functions
12698 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12699 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12700 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12701 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12702 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12703 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12706 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12707 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12708 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12709 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12710 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12712 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12715 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12716 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12717 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12718 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12720 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12721 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12722 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12723 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12724 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12725 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12726 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12727 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12731 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12732 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12733 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12734 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12736 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12739 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
12740 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
12741 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
12744 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
12745 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
12746 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12747 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
12749 @item nntp-via-user-password
12750 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
12751 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
12753 @item nntp-via-envuser
12754 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
12755 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
12756 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
12757 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
12759 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
12760 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
12761 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
12762 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
12769 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
12774 @item nntp-via-user-name
12775 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
12776 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
12778 @item nntp-via-address
12779 @vindex nntp-via-address
12780 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
12785 @node Common Variables
12786 @subsubsection Common Variables
12788 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
12789 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
12794 @item nntp-pre-command
12795 @vindex nntp-pre-command
12796 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
12797 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
12798 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
12799 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
12802 @vindex nntp-address
12803 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12805 @item nntp-port-number
12806 @vindex nntp-port-number
12807 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12808 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
12809 @acronym{tls}/@acronym{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
12810 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
12811 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
12812 not work with named ports.
12814 @item nntp-end-of-line
12815 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
12816 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
12817 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
12818 using a non native connection function.
12820 @item nntp-telnet-command
12821 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
12822 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
12823 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
12824 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
12827 @item nntp-telnet-switches
12828 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
12829 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
12836 @subsection News Spool
12840 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
12841 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
12842 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
12845 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
12846 anything else) as the address.
12848 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
12849 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
12850 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
12851 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
12855 @item nnspool-inews-program
12856 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
12857 Program used to post an article.
12859 @item nnspool-inews-switches
12860 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
12861 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
12863 @item nnspool-spool-directory
12864 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
12865 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
12866 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
12868 @item nnspool-nov-directory
12869 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
12870 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
12871 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
12873 @item nnspool-lib-dir
12874 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
12875 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
12877 @item nnspool-active-file
12878 @vindex nnspool-active-file
12879 The name of the active file.
12881 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
12882 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
12883 The name of the group descriptions file.
12885 @item nnspool-history-file
12886 @vindex nnspool-history-file
12887 The name of the news history file.
12889 @item nnspool-active-times-file
12890 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
12891 The name of the active date file.
12893 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
12894 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
12895 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
12898 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12899 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
12901 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
12902 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
12903 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
12910 @section Getting Mail
12911 @cindex reading mail
12914 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
12918 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
12919 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
12920 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
12921 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
12922 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
12923 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
12924 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
12925 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
12926 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
12927 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
12928 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
12929 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
12930 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
12934 @node Mail in a Newsreader
12935 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
12937 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
12938 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
12939 of a culture shock.
12941 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
12942 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
12944 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
12945 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
12946 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
12947 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
12949 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
12951 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
12952 deleted? How awful!
12954 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
12955 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
12956 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
12957 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
12960 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
12961 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
12962 they want to treat a message.
12964 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
12965 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
12966 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
12967 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
12968 archived somewhere else.
12970 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
12971 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
12972 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
12973 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
12974 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
12976 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
12977 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
12978 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
12980 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
12981 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
12984 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
12985 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
12986 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
12987 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
12988 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
12990 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
12991 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
12992 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
12993 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
12994 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
12995 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
12999 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13000 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13002 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13003 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13004 and things will happen automatically.
13006 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13007 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13010 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13013 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13014 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13015 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13016 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13017 like any other group.
13019 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13022 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13023 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13024 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13028 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13029 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13030 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13033 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13034 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13035 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13038 @node Splitting Mail
13039 @subsection Splitting Mail
13040 @cindex splitting mail
13041 @cindex mail splitting
13043 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13044 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13045 to be split into groups.
13048 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13049 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13050 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13051 ("mail.other" "")))
13054 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13055 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13056 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13057 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13058 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13059 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13060 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13063 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13066 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13067 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13068 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13069 mail belongs in that group.
13071 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13072 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13073 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13074 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13075 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13076 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.)
13078 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13079 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13080 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13081 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13082 thinks should carry this mail message.
13084 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13085 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13086 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13087 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13089 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13090 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13091 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13092 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13093 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13095 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13098 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13099 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13100 links. If that's the case for you, set
13101 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13102 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13104 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13105 @kindex nnmail-split-history
13106 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13107 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13108 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13109 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13112 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13113 Header lines longer than the value of
13114 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13117 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13118 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13119 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13120 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13121 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13122 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13123 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13124 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13126 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13127 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13128 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13129 @pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}, however, then splitting does
13130 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13131 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13132 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13133 other kinds of entries.)
13135 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13136 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13137 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13138 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13139 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13140 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13141 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13142 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13143 month's rent money.
13147 @subsection Mail Sources
13149 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13150 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13151 maildir, for instance.
13154 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13155 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13156 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13160 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13161 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13163 @cindex mail server
13166 @cindex mail source
13168 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13169 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13174 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13177 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13178 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13179 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13182 The following mail source types are available:
13186 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13192 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13193 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13194 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13198 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13201 An example file mail source:
13204 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13207 Or using the default file name:
13213 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13214 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13215 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13216 mail spool while moving the mail.
13218 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13222 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13225 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13229 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13232 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13234 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13237 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13241 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13242 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13243 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13244 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13245 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13246 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13247 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13248 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13249 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13250 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13252 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13253 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13254 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13255 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13261 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13265 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13269 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13270 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13271 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13272 predicate are considered.
13276 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13280 An example directory mail source:
13283 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13288 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13294 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13295 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13298 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13299 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13300 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13301 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13302 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13305 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13309 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13310 the user is prompted.
13313 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13314 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13317 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13320 The valid format specifier characters are:
13324 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13325 included in this string.
13328 The name of the server.
13331 The port number of the server.
13334 The user name to use.
13337 The password to use.
13340 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13341 corresponding keywords.
13344 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13345 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13348 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13349 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13352 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13353 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13354 mail should be moved to.
13356 @item :authentication
13357 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13358 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13363 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13364 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13366 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13367 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13373 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13376 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13377 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13380 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13383 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13387 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13388 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13389 contains exactly one mail.
13395 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13396 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13399 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13400 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13402 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13403 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13404 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13407 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13408 from locking problems).
13412 Two example maildir mail sources:
13415 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13416 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13420 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13425 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13426 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13427 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13428 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13429 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13431 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13432 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13438 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13439 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13442 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13443 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13446 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13450 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13454 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13455 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13456 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13457 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13459 @item :authentication
13460 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13461 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13462 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13463 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13466 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13467 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13468 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13474 The valid format specifier characters are:
13478 The name of the server.
13481 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13484 The port number of the server.
13487 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13488 corresponding keywords.
13491 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13492 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13495 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13496 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13497 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13498 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13499 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13500 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13503 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13504 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13505 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13506 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13509 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13510 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13514 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13517 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13519 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13523 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{www.hotmail.com},
13524 @uref{webmail.netscape.com}, @uref{www.netaddress.com},
13525 @uref{mail.yahoo.com}.
13527 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13528 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13530 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13536 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13537 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13540 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13544 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13548 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13549 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13553 An example webmail source:
13556 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13558 :password "secret")
13563 @item Common Keywords
13564 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13570 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13571 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13576 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13581 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13582 useful when you use local mail and news.
13587 @subsubsection Function Interface
13589 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13590 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13591 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13592 consider the following mail-source setting:
13595 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13596 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13599 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13600 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13601 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13602 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13603 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13605 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13608 @node Mail Source Customization
13609 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13611 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13612 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13616 @item mail-source-crash-box
13617 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13618 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13619 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13621 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13622 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13623 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13624 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13625 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13626 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13627 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13628 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13630 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13631 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13632 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13633 files. This variable only applies when
13634 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13636 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13637 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13638 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13640 @item mail-source-directory
13641 @vindex mail-source-directory
13642 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
13643 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
13644 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
13647 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13648 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13649 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13650 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13651 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13652 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13654 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13655 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13656 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13658 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13659 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13660 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13661 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13666 @node Fetching Mail
13667 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13669 @vindex mail-sources
13670 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13671 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13672 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13673 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13675 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13676 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13679 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13680 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13685 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13686 :password "secret")))
13689 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13693 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13694 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13697 :password "secret")))
13701 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13702 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13703 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13704 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13705 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13706 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13710 @node Mail Back End Variables
13711 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13713 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13717 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13718 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13719 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13720 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13722 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13723 @item nnmail-split-hook
13724 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13725 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
13726 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
13727 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13728 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13729 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13730 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13731 in the buffer will show up in any files.
13732 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
13735 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13736 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13737 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13738 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13739 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
13740 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
13741 starting to handle the new mail) and
13742 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
13743 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
13744 default file modes the new mail files get:
13747 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
13748 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
13750 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
13751 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
13754 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
13755 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
13756 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
13757 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
13758 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
13759 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
13760 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
13762 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
13763 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
13764 @findex delete-file
13765 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
13767 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13768 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13769 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
13770 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
13771 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
13773 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13774 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
13775 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
13776 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
13777 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
13779 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
13780 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
13781 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
13786 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
13787 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
13788 @cindex mail splitting
13789 @cindex fancy mail splitting
13791 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
13792 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
13793 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
13794 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
13795 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
13796 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
13798 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
13801 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
13802 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
13803 ;; @r{from real errors.}
13804 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
13806 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
13807 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
13808 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
13809 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
13810 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
13811 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
13812 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
13813 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
13814 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
13815 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
13816 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
13817 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
13818 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
13819 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
13820 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
13821 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
13822 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
13826 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
13827 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
13828 the five possible split syntaxes:
13833 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
13834 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
13838 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
13839 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
13840 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
13841 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
13842 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
13843 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
13844 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
13845 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
13848 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13849 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
13850 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
13851 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
13854 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
13855 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
13858 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
13859 (i.e., delete) this message. Use with extreme caution.
13862 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
13863 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
13864 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
13865 function should return a @var{split}.
13868 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
13869 body of the messages:
13872 (defun split-on-body ()
13874 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
13875 (goto-char (point-min))
13876 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
13880 The @samp{" *nnmail incoming*"} is narrowed to the message in question
13881 when the @code{:} function is run.
13884 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the
13885 first element is @code{!}, then @var{split} will be processed, and
13886 @var{func} will be called as a function with the result of @var{split}
13887 as argument. @var{func} should return a split.
13890 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
13894 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
13895 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
13896 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
13897 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
13898 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
13900 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
13901 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case they
13902 are expanded as specified by the variable
13903 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
13904 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
13907 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
13908 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
13909 when all this splitting is performed.
13911 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
13912 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
13913 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
13916 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
13919 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
13920 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
13922 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
13923 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
13924 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
13925 groupings 1 through 9.
13927 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
13928 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
13929 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
13930 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
13931 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
13932 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
13933 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
13934 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
13935 it once per thread.
13937 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
13938 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
13939 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
13940 using the colon feature, like so:
13942 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
13943 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
13945 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
13946 ;; @r{other splits go here}
13950 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
13951 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
13952 in the file specified by the variable
13953 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
13954 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
13955 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
13956 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
13957 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
13958 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
13959 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
13960 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
13961 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
13962 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
13963 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
13964 300 kBytes in size.)
13965 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
13966 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
13967 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
13968 messages goes into the new group.
13970 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
13971 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
13972 outgoing messages are written to an `outgoing' group, you could set
13973 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
13974 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
13978 @node Group Mail Splitting
13979 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
13980 @cindex mail splitting
13981 @cindex group mail splitting
13983 @findex gnus-group-split
13984 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
13985 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
13986 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
13987 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
13988 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
13989 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
13990 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
13991 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
13993 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
13994 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
13995 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
13996 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
13998 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
13999 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14000 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14001 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
14002 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14003 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14004 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14006 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14007 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14008 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14009 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14010 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
14011 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14012 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14014 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14015 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14016 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14017 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14018 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14019 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14020 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14021 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14022 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14023 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14024 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14025 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14026 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14028 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14033 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14034 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14036 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14037 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14038 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14039 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14041 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14044 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14045 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14046 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14049 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14050 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14051 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14055 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14056 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14057 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14061 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14064 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14065 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14066 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14067 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14068 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14069 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
14070 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14071 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14072 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14074 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14075 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14076 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14077 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14078 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14079 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14080 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14081 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14082 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14084 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14085 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14086 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14087 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14088 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14089 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14092 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14095 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14096 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14097 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14098 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14099 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14102 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14103 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14104 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14105 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14107 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14108 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14109 @cindex incorporating old mail
14110 @cindex import old mail
14112 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14113 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14114 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14117 Doing so can be quite easy.
14119 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14120 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14121 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14122 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14123 your @code{nnml} groups.
14129 Go to the group buffer.
14132 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14133 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14136 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14139 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14140 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14143 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14144 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14147 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14148 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14149 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14150 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14151 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14153 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14154 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14155 using the new mail back end.
14158 @node Expiring Mail
14159 @subsection Expiring Mail
14160 @cindex article expiry
14162 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14163 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14164 different approach to mail reading.
14166 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14167 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14168 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14169 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14170 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14171 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14174 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14175 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14176 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14177 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14178 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14179 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14180 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14181 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14182 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14184 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14185 two features, called `auto-expire' and `total-expire', that can help you
14186 with this. In a nutshell, `auto-expire' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14187 for you when you select an article. And `total-expire' means that Gnus
14188 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14189 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14190 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14193 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14194 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14195 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14196 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14197 into its own group.)
14199 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14200 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14201 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14202 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14203 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14204 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14205 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring @pxref{Adaptive
14206 Scoring}. Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14209 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14210 Groups that match the regular expression
14211 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14212 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14213 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14215 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14216 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14217 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14218 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14219 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14221 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14223 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14224 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14225 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14228 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14229 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14230 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14231 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14232 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14234 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14235 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14238 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14239 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14242 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14243 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14245 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14246 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14247 don't really mix very well.
14249 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14250 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14251 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14252 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14255 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14256 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14257 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14258 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14261 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14263 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14265 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14267 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14269 ((string= group "important")
14275 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14276 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14278 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14279 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14280 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14283 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14284 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14286 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14287 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14288 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14289 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14290 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14291 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14292 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14293 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14294 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14295 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14296 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14297 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14298 name or @code{delete}.
14300 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14302 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14305 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14306 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14307 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14308 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14309 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14312 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14313 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14314 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14315 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14316 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14319 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14320 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14321 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14322 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14323 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14324 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14326 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14327 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14328 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14329 easier for procmail users.
14331 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14332 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14333 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14334 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14335 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14336 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14337 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14338 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14339 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14340 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14341 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14342 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14343 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14346 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14348 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14349 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14350 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14351 auto-expire turned on.
14355 @subsection Washing Mail
14356 @cindex mail washing
14357 @cindex list server brain damage
14358 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14360 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14361 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14362 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14363 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14364 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14365 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14367 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14368 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14369 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14372 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14373 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14374 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14375 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14378 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14379 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14380 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14381 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14382 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14385 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14386 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14387 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14388 Emacs running on MS machines.
14392 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14393 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14394 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14395 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14398 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14399 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14400 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14401 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14403 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14404 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14405 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14406 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14407 into a feature by documenting it.)
14409 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14410 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14411 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14412 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14413 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14414 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14415 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14418 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14419 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14422 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14423 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14426 This can also be done non-destructively with
14427 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14429 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14430 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14431 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14433 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14434 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14436 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14437 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14438 @code{References} headers.
14442 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14443 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14444 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14448 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14449 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14450 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14457 @subsection Duplicates
14459 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14460 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14461 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14462 @cindex duplicate mails
14463 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14464 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14465 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14466 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14467 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14468 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14469 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14470 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14471 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14472 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14473 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14474 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14475 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14477 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14478 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14479 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14480 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14482 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14485 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14486 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14490 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14491 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14492 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14493 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14494 (any mail "mail.misc")
14495 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14501 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14502 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14503 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14507 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14508 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14509 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14510 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14511 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14514 @node Not Reading Mail
14515 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14517 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14518 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14519 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14521 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14522 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14523 mail, which should help.
14525 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14526 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14527 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14528 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14529 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14530 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14531 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14532 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14533 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14534 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14535 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14537 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14538 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14542 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14543 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14545 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14546 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14547 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14549 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14550 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14551 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14555 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14556 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14557 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14558 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14559 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14560 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14561 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14565 @node Unix Mail Box
14566 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14568 @cindex unix mail box
14570 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14571 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14572 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14573 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14574 which group it belongs in.
14576 Virtual server settings:
14579 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14580 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14581 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14584 @item nnmbox-active-file
14585 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14586 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14587 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14589 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14590 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14591 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14592 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14597 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14601 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14602 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14603 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14604 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14605 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14607 Virtual server settings:
14610 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14611 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14612 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14614 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14615 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14616 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14617 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14619 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14620 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14621 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14627 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14629 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14631 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14632 format. It should be used with some caution.
14634 @vindex nnml-directory
14635 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14636 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14637 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14638 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14640 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14643 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14644 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14645 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14646 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14647 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14648 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14649 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14650 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14652 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14653 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14654 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14655 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14657 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14659 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14660 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14661 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14662 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14663 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14664 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14665 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14666 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14669 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14670 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14671 them next time it starts.
14673 Virtual server settings:
14676 @item nnml-directory
14677 @vindex nnml-directory
14678 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14679 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14682 @item nnml-active-file
14683 @vindex nnml-active-file
14684 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14685 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14687 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14688 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14689 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14690 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14692 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14693 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14694 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14697 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14698 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14699 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
14700 default is @code{nil}.
14702 @item nnml-nov-file-name
14703 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
14704 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
14706 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14707 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
14708 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
14710 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
14711 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
14712 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
14713 default is @code{nil}.
14715 @item nnml-marks-file-name
14716 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
14717 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
14719 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
14720 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
14721 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
14726 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
14727 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of whack,
14728 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
14729 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
14730 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
14731 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
14732 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
14737 @subsubsection MH Spool
14739 @cindex mh-e mail spool
14741 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
14742 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks file.
14743 This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than @code{nnml},
14744 but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
14746 Virtual server settings:
14749 @item nnmh-directory
14750 @vindex nnmh-directory
14751 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
14752 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
14755 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
14756 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14757 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
14761 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
14762 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
14763 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
14764 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
14765 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
14766 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
14767 to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
14772 @subsubsection Maildir
14776 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
14777 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
14778 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
14779 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. nnmaildir also
14780 stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory within a
14783 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
14784 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
14785 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
14786 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
14787 can still do that with nnmaildir, but the more common configuration is
14788 to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs that appear as
14791 nnmaildir is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will never
14792 corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never corrupt its
14793 data in the filesystem.
14795 nnmaildir stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each maildir. So you
14796 can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to another, and you will
14799 Virtual server settings:
14803 For each of your nnmaildir servers (it's very unlikely that you'd need
14804 more than one), you need to create a directory and populate it with
14805 maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not choose a
14806 directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir will be
14807 represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the filename of the
14808 symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames in the directory
14809 starting with `.' are ignored. The directory is scanned when you
14810 first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in the group buffer;
14811 if any maildirs have been removed or added, nnmaildir notices at these
14814 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
14815 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
14816 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
14817 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
14818 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
14819 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
14820 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
14821 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
14822 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
14823 if nnmaildir uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical value.
14825 @item target-prefix
14826 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
14827 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
14828 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
14831 When you create a group on an nnmaildir server, the maildir is created
14832 with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
14833 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
14834 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
14835 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
14836 the group @code{foo}, nnmaildir will create
14837 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
14838 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
14839 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
14841 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
14842 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
14843 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
14844 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
14845 symlinks pointing to them will be).
14847 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
14848 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
14849 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
14850 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
14851 @code{force} argument.
14853 @item directory-files
14854 This should be a function with the same interface as
14855 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
14856 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
14857 parameter is optional; the default is
14858 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
14859 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
14860 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
14861 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
14862 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
14863 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
14866 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
14867 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
14868 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
14869 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
14870 value is @code{nil}.
14872 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
14873 an nnmaildir group. The results might happen to be useful, but that
14874 would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be different
14875 in the future. If your split rules create new groups, remember to
14876 supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
14879 @subsubsection Group parameters
14881 nnmaildir uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore all
14882 this; the default behavior for nnmaildir is the same as the default
14883 behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after one week,
14884 etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this functionality is
14885 unique to nnmaildir, so you can ignore it if you're just trying to
14886 duplicate the behavior you already have with another back end.
14888 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
14889 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
14890 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
14891 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
14892 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
14893 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
14894 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
14895 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
14896 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
14900 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article before
14901 it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
14902 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
14903 nnmaildir falls back to the usual
14904 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
14905 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
14906 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
14907 60 60)]}; nnmaildir will evaluate the form and use the result. An
14908 article's age is measured starting from the article file's
14909 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
14910 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
14911 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
14914 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
14916 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
14918 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
14919 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
14920 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an nnmaildir group, the
14921 article will be just as old in the destination group as it was in the
14922 source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
14923 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
14924 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
14925 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
14926 article. So that form can refer to
14927 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
14928 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, nnmaildir does not fall
14929 back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
14930 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
14933 If this is set to @code{t}, nnmaildir will treat the articles in this
14934 maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed from
14935 @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in @file{new/},
14936 not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles cannot be
14937 edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the @file{new/}
14938 directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox containing
14939 a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the maildir outside
14940 @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for a shared
14941 mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or have write
14942 permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't contain
14943 extra copies of the articles.
14945 @item directory-files
14946 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
14947 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
14948 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
14949 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
14951 @item distrust-Lines:
14952 If non-@code{nil}, nnmaildir will always count the lines of an
14953 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
14954 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
14957 A list of mark symbols, such as
14958 @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever Gnus asks nnmaildir for
14959 article marks, nnmaildir will say that all articles have these
14960 marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in the filesystem
14961 say so. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will probably be
14962 removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14963 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14966 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
14967 Gnus asks nnmaildir for article marks, nnmaildir will say that no
14968 articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks stored in
14969 the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
14970 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
14971 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
14972 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
14974 @item nov-cache-size
14975 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To speed
14976 things up, nnmaildir keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory for a limited number of
14977 articles in each group. (This is probably not worthwhile, and will
14978 probably be removed in the future.) This parameter's value is noticed
14979 only the first time a group is seen after the server is opened---i.e.,
14980 when you first start Gnus, typically. The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized
14981 until the server is closed and reopened. The default is an estimate
14982 of the number of articles that would be displayed in the summary
14983 buffer: a count of articles that are either marked with @code{tick} or
14984 not marked with @code{read}, plus a little extra.
14987 @subsubsection Article identification
14988 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
14989 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
14990 contains no colons. nnmaildir ignores, but preserves, the
14991 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
14992 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
14993 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
14994 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
14995 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
14996 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
14997 request the article in the summary buffer.
14999 @subsubsection NOV data
15000 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used to
15001 generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15002 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15003 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15004 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically when the
15005 article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can force
15006 nnmaildir to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a single article simply by
15007 deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV} file, but @emph{beware}: this will also
15008 cause nnmaildir to assign a new article number for this article, which
15009 may cause trouble with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15011 @subsubsection Article marks
15012 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15013 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15014 When Gnus asks nnmaildir for a group's marks, nnmaildir looks for such
15015 files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus asks nnmaildir
15016 to store a new set of marks, nnmaildir creates and deletes the
15017 corresponding files as needed. (Actually, rather than create a new
15018 file for each mark, it just creates hard links to
15019 @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15021 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15022 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15023 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15024 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15025 this while Gnus is running and your nnmaildir server is open, it's
15026 best to exit all summary buffers for nnmaildir groups and type @kbd{s}
15027 in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g} in the
15028 group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not pick up the
15029 changes, and might undo them.
15033 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15035 @cindex mbox folders
15036 @cindex mail folders
15038 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a separate
15039 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
15040 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
15043 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15045 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15046 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15047 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15048 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15049 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15050 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15051 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder} directory.
15052 Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to backup, use
15053 @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the
15054 @code{nnfolder} directory).
15056 Virtual server settings:
15059 @item nnfolder-directory
15060 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15061 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
15062 The default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15065 @item nnfolder-active-file
15066 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15067 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15069 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15070 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15071 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15072 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15074 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15075 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15076 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The default
15079 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15080 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15081 @cindex backup files
15082 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15083 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
15084 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
15085 your @file{.emacs} file:
15088 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15089 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15091 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15094 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15095 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15096 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15097 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15098 extract some information from it before removing it.
15100 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15101 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15102 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15103 default is @code{nil}.
15105 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15106 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15107 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15109 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15110 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15111 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15112 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15114 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15115 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15116 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15117 default is @code{nil}.
15119 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15120 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15121 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15123 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15124 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15125 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15126 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15131 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15132 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15133 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15134 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15135 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15136 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15139 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15140 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15142 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15143 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15144 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15145 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15146 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15148 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15149 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15150 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15151 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15152 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15153 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15154 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15155 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15158 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15159 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15160 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15161 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15166 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15167 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15168 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15169 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15170 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15171 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15172 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15173 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15174 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15175 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15176 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15177 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15178 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15183 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15184 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15185 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15186 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15187 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15188 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15189 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15190 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15191 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15192 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15193 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15194 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15195 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15196 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15198 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15199 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15204 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15205 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15206 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15207 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15208 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15209 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15210 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15211 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15212 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15213 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15214 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15215 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15216 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15217 provided by the active file and overviews.
15219 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15220 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15221 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15222 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15223 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15226 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15227 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15232 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15233 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15234 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15235 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15236 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15237 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15238 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15242 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15243 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15244 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15245 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15246 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15247 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15248 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15249 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15250 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15252 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15253 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15254 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15255 friendly mail back end all over.
15259 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15260 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15263 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15264 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15265 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15266 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15267 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15268 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15269 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15270 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15273 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15274 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15275 This means you can skip Gnus's mail splitting if your mail is already
15276 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15277 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15278 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15279 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15280 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15281 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15282 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15283 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15285 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15286 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15287 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15288 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15289 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15292 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15293 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15294 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15295 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15296 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15297 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15298 removed in the future.
15300 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15301 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15302 on your file system.
15304 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15305 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15310 @node Browsing the Web
15311 @section Browsing the Web
15313 @cindex browsing the web
15317 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15318 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15319 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15320 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15321 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15322 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15323 even know what a news group is.
15325 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15326 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15327 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15328 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15329 you mad in the end.
15331 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15334 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15335 interfaces to these sources.
15339 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15340 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15341 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15342 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15343 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15344 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15347 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15349 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15350 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15351 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15352 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15353 though, you should be ok.
15355 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15356 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15357 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15358 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15359 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15361 @node Archiving Mail
15362 @subsection Archiving Mail
15363 @cindex archiving mail
15364 @cindex backup of mail
15366 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15367 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15368 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15369 marks is fairly simple.
15371 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15372 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15375 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15376 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15377 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15378 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15379 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15380 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15381 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15382 before you restore the data.
15384 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15385 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15386 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15387 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15388 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15389 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15390 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15391 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15392 is unnecessary in that case.
15395 @subsection Web Searches
15400 @cindex Usenet searches
15401 @cindex searching the Usenet
15403 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15404 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15405 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15406 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15407 searches without having to use a browser.
15409 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15410 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15411 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15412 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15413 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15415 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15416 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15417 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15418 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15419 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15420 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15421 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15422 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15423 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15424 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15427 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15428 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15429 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
15430 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15431 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15432 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15434 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15435 to use @code{nnweb}.
15437 Virtual server variables:
15442 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15443 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15444 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15447 @vindex nnweb-search
15448 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15450 @item nnweb-max-hits
15451 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15452 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15455 @item nnweb-type-definition
15456 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15457 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15458 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15463 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15467 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15470 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15473 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15477 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15484 @subsection Slashdot
15488 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15489 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15490 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15492 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15493 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15496 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15497 '((nnslashdot "")))
15500 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15501 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15502 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15503 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15504 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15507 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15508 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15510 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15511 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15512 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15513 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
15514 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15515 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15516 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15518 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15521 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15522 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15523 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15524 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15525 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15526 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15527 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15529 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15530 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15531 The login name to use when posting.
15533 @item nnslashdot-password
15534 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15535 The password to use when posting.
15537 @item nnslashdot-directory
15538 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15539 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15540 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15542 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15543 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15544 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
15545 news articles and comments. The default is@*
15546 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15548 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15549 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15550 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
15552 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
15554 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15555 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15556 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
15558 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15560 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15561 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15562 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15564 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15565 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15566 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15567 updated. The default is 0.
15574 @subsection Ultimate
15576 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15578 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15579 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15580 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15581 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15583 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15584 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15585 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
15586 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15587 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15588 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15589 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15591 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15594 @item nnultimate-directory
15595 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15596 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15597 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15602 @subsection Web Archive
15604 @cindex Web Archive
15606 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15607 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15608 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15609 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15612 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15613 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15614 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15615 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15616 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15617 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15618 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15619 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15621 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15624 @item nnwarchive-directory
15625 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15626 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15627 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15629 @item nnwarchive-login
15630 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15631 The account name on the web server.
15633 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15634 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15635 The password for your account on the web server.
15643 Some sites have RDF site summary (RSS)
15644 @uref{http://purl.org/rss/1.0/spec}. It has a quite regular and nice
15645 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15648 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something
15649 like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET}, then
15652 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15655 @item nnrss-directory
15656 @vindex nnrss-directory
15657 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15658 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15662 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15663 the summary buffer.
15666 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15667 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
15669 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
15671 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
15672 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
15675 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
15678 (require 'browse-url)
15680 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
15682 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
15685 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
15686 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
15689 (browse-url (cdr url))
15690 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
15691 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
15693 (eval-after-load "gnus"
15694 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
15695 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
15696 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
15699 @node Customizing w3
15700 @subsection Customizing w3
15706 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
15707 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
15708 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
15710 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
15711 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
15712 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
15715 (eval-after-load "w3"
15717 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
15718 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
15719 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
15720 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
15722 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
15725 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
15726 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
15733 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
15735 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
15736 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
15737 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
15738 specify the network address of the server.
15740 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
15741 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
15742 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
15743 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
15744 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
15745 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
15747 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
15748 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
15749 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
15750 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
15752 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
15753 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
15754 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
15755 usage explained in this section.
15757 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP} servers
15758 might look something like the following. (Note that for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you
15759 need external programs and libraries, see below.)
15762 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15763 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
15764 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
15766 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15767 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
15768 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
15770 (nnimap-server-port 143)
15771 (nnimap-address "localhost")
15772 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
15773 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
15774 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
15775 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
15776 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
15777 (nnimap-stream network))
15778 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
15780 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
15781 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
15782 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
15785 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
15786 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
15787 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
15788 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
15790 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
15795 @item nnimap-address
15796 @vindex nnimap-address
15798 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
15799 server name if not specified.
15801 @item nnimap-server-port
15802 @vindex nnimap-server-port
15803 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
15805 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
15808 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15809 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
15812 @item nnimap-list-pattern
15813 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
15814 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
15815 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
15816 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
15817 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
15818 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
15820 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
15821 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
15822 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
15825 Example server specification:
15828 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15829 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
15830 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
15833 @item nnimap-stream
15834 @vindex nnimap-stream
15835 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
15836 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
15837 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which
15838 can be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
15840 Example server specification:
15843 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15844 (nnimap-stream ssl))
15847 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
15851 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
15852 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
15854 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
15856 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
15857 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
15860 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
15861 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
15863 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
15864 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
15866 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
15868 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
15871 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
15872 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
15873 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
15874 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
15875 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
15876 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
15877 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
15878 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
15879 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
15882 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
15883 needed. It is available from
15884 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
15886 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
15887 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
15888 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
15889 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
15890 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
15891 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
15892 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
15895 @vindex imap-ssl-program
15896 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
15897 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
15898 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
15899 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
15900 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
15901 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
15904 @vindex imap-shell-program
15905 @vindex imap-shell-host
15906 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
15907 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
15909 @item nnimap-authenticator
15910 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
15912 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
15913 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
15915 Example server specification:
15918 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
15919 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
15922 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
15926 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
15927 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
15929 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
15932 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
15933 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
15935 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
15937 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
15939 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your email address as password.
15942 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
15944 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
15945 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers has decided that things that
15946 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
15947 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
15948 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
15949 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
15952 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
15953 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
15954 running in circles yet?
15956 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
15957 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
15960 The possible options are:
15965 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
15968 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
15969 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
15970 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
15971 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
15973 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
15978 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
15979 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
15981 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
15982 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
15983 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
15984 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
15985 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
15988 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
15989 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
15992 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
15993 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15994 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
15995 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
15998 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
15999 as ticked for other users.
16001 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16003 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16005 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16006 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16007 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16008 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16010 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16011 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16012 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16013 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16015 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16016 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16018 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16019 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16020 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16026 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16027 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16028 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16029 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16030 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16035 @node Splitting in IMAP
16036 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16037 @cindex splitting imap mail
16039 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
16040 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16041 @acronym{IMAP} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
16042 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @acronym{IMAP}
16043 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
16047 Here are the variables of interest:
16051 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16052 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16054 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16056 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16057 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16058 found will be used.
16060 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16062 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16063 @cindex splitting, inbox
16065 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16067 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16068 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16069 splitting is disabled!
16072 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16073 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16076 No nnmail equivalent.
16078 @item nnimap-split-rule
16079 @cindex Splitting, rules
16080 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16082 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16085 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16086 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16087 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16088 Neither did I, we need examples.
16091 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16093 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16094 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16095 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16098 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16099 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16100 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16102 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
16103 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16107 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16110 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16111 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16113 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16114 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16115 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16116 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16118 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16119 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16120 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16121 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16122 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16123 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16125 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16126 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16127 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16129 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16130 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16131 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16133 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16135 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16136 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16137 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16140 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16141 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16142 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16143 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16144 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16145 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16148 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16149 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16150 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16151 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16152 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16153 group/function elements.
16155 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16157 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16159 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16161 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16162 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16164 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16165 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16166 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16169 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16170 @cindex splitting, fancy
16171 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16172 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16174 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16175 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16176 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16178 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16179 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16180 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16181 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16186 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16187 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16190 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16192 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16193 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16194 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16196 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16197 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16198 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16199 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16203 @node Expiring in IMAP
16204 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16205 @cindex expiring imap mail
16207 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16208 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16209 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16210 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16211 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16212 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16215 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16216 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16217 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16218 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16219 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16220 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16221 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16222 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16226 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16227 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16229 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16230 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16232 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16234 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16235 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16236 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16237 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16241 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16242 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16243 @cindex editing imap acls
16244 @cindex Access Control Lists
16245 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16247 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16249 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16250 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16251 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16254 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16255 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
16256 editing window with detailed instructions.
16258 Some possible uses:
16262 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16263 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16264 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16266 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16267 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16268 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16272 @node Expunging mailboxes
16273 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16277 @cindex Manual expunging
16279 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16281 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16282 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16283 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16285 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16288 @node A note on namespaces
16289 @subsection A note on namespaces
16290 @cindex IMAP namespace
16293 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16294 by the following text in the RFC:
16297 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16299 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16300 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16301 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16302 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16304 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16305 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16306 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16307 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16308 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16309 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16312 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16313 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16314 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16316 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16317 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16318 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16319 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16320 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16321 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16322 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16323 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16326 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16327 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16328 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16330 @node Other Sources
16331 @section Other Sources
16333 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16334 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16338 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16339 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16340 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16341 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16342 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16346 @node Directory Groups
16347 @subsection Directory Groups
16349 @cindex directory groups
16351 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16352 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16355 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16356 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16357 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16358 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16360 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16361 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16362 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16363 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16364 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16366 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16368 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16369 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16370 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16371 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16374 @node Anything Groups
16375 @subsection Anything Groups
16378 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16379 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16380 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16383 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16384 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16385 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16386 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16387 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16388 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16389 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16390 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16391 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16392 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16395 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16396 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16397 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16398 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16400 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16401 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16402 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16403 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16405 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16406 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16407 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16408 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16409 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16410 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16411 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16412 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16417 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16418 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16419 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16420 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16422 @item nneething-exclude-files
16423 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16424 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16425 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16427 @item nneething-include-files
16428 @vindex nneething-include-files
16429 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16430 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16432 @item nneething-map-file
16433 @vindex nneething-map-file
16434 Name of the map files.
16438 @node Document Groups
16439 @subsection Document Groups
16441 @cindex documentation group
16444 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16445 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16452 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16457 The standard Unix mbox file.
16459 @cindex MMDF mail box
16461 The MMDF mail box format.
16464 Several news articles appended into a file.
16467 @cindex rnews batch files
16468 The rnews batch transport format.
16469 @cindex forwarded messages
16472 Forwarded articles.
16475 Netscape mail boxes.
16478 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16480 @item standard-digest
16481 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16484 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16486 @item lanl-gov-announce
16487 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16489 @item rfc822-forward
16490 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16493 The Outlook mail box.
16496 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16499 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16502 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16505 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16511 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16514 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16520 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16521 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16522 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16525 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16526 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16527 group. And that's it.
16529 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16530 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16531 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16532 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16533 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16534 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16535 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16536 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16537 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16538 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16540 Virtual server variables:
16543 @item nndoc-article-type
16544 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16545 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16546 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16547 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16548 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16549 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16551 @item nndoc-post-type
16552 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16553 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16554 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16559 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16563 @node Document Server Internals
16564 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16566 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16567 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16568 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16569 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16571 First, here's an example document type definition:
16575 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16576 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16579 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16580 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16581 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16582 types can be defined with very few settings:
16585 @item first-article
16586 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16587 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16590 @item article-begin
16591 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16592 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16594 @item head-begin-function
16595 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16598 @item nndoc-head-begin
16599 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16602 @item nndoc-head-end
16603 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16604 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16606 @item body-begin-function
16607 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16611 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16614 @item body-end-function
16615 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16619 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
16622 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
16623 regexp will be totally ignored.
16627 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
16628 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
16629 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
16630 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
16631 something that's palatable for Gnus:
16634 @item prepare-body-function
16635 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
16636 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
16637 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
16639 @item article-transform-function
16640 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
16641 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
16642 body of the article.
16644 @item generate-head-function
16645 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
16646 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
16647 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
16648 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
16652 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
16657 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16658 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
16659 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
16660 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
16661 (head-end . "^ ?$")
16662 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
16663 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
16664 (subtype digest guess))
16667 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
16668 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
16669 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
16670 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
16671 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
16673 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
16674 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
16675 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
16676 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
16677 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
16678 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
16679 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
16680 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
16681 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
16682 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
16683 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
16684 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
16692 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
16693 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
16694 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
16696 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
16697 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
16698 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
16701 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
16702 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
16703 that interested in doing things properly.
16705 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
16706 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
16709 First some terminology:
16714 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
16715 get news and/or mail from.
16718 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
16719 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
16722 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
16726 @item message packets
16727 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
16728 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
16729 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16731 @item response packets
16732 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
16733 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
16734 default, where @var{x} is a number.
16744 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
16745 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
16746 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
16747 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
16750 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
16753 You put the packet in your home directory.
16756 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
16757 the native or secondary server.
16760 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
16761 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
16764 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
16768 You transfer this packet to the server.
16771 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
16774 You then repeat until you die.
16778 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
16779 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
16782 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
16783 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
16784 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
16788 @node SOUP Commands
16789 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
16791 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
16795 @kindex G s b (Group)
16796 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
16797 Pack all unread articles in the current group
16798 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
16799 process/prefix convention.
16802 @kindex G s w (Group)
16803 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
16804 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
16807 @kindex G s s (Group)
16808 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
16809 Send all replies from the replies packet
16810 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
16813 @kindex G s p (Group)
16814 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
16815 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
16818 @kindex G s r (Group)
16819 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
16820 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
16823 @kindex O s (Summary)
16824 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
16825 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
16826 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
16827 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16832 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
16837 @item gnus-soup-directory
16838 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
16839 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
16840 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
16842 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
16843 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
16844 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
16845 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
16847 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
16848 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
16849 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
16850 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
16852 @item gnus-soup-packer
16853 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
16854 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16855 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
16857 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
16858 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
16859 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
16860 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16862 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
16863 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
16864 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
16866 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16867 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
16868 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
16869 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
16875 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
16878 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
16879 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
16880 you can read them at leisure.
16882 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
16886 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
16887 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
16888 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
16889 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
16891 @item nnsoup-directory
16892 @vindex nnsoup-directory
16893 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
16894 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
16896 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
16897 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
16898 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
16899 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
16901 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
16902 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
16903 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
16904 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
16905 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
16907 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
16908 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
16909 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
16910 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
16912 @item nnsoup-active-file
16913 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
16914 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
16915 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
16916 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
16917 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
16919 @item nnsoup-packer
16920 @vindex nnsoup-packer
16921 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
16922 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
16924 @item nnsoup-unpacker
16925 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
16926 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
16927 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
16929 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
16930 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
16931 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
16934 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
16935 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
16936 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
16939 @item nnsoup-always-save
16940 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
16941 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
16947 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
16949 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
16950 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
16951 more for that to happen.
16953 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
16954 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
16955 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
16958 In specific, this is what it does:
16961 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
16962 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
16965 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
16966 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
16967 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
16970 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
16971 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
16972 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
16975 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
16976 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
16977 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
16979 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
16985 @item nngateway-address
16986 @vindex nngateway-address
16987 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
16989 @item nngateway-header-transformation
16990 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
16991 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
16992 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
16993 transformation should be called, and defaults to
16994 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
16995 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
16998 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
16999 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17000 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17003 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17006 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17009 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17012 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17014 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17017 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17018 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17019 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17021 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17023 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17024 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17025 @code{nngateway-address}.
17033 (setq gnus-post-method
17035 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17036 (nngateway-header-transformation
17037 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17040 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17043 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17048 @node Combined Groups
17049 @section Combined Groups
17051 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17055 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17056 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17060 @node Virtual Groups
17061 @subsection Virtual Groups
17063 @cindex virtual groups
17064 @cindex merging groups
17066 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17069 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17070 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17071 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17073 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17074 regexp to match component groups.
17076 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17077 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17078 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17079 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17080 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17081 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17082 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17083 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17085 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17086 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17089 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17092 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17093 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17095 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17096 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17097 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17098 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17101 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17104 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17105 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17106 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17108 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17109 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17110 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17111 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17112 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17114 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17115 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17116 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17118 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17119 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17120 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17121 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17122 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17123 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17124 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17125 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17126 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17127 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17128 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17130 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17131 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17132 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17133 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17134 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17135 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17136 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17138 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17139 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17141 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17142 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17146 @node Kibozed Groups
17147 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17151 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @acronym{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
17152 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will do this for
17153 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server down to a halt
17154 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17156 @kindex G k (Group)
17157 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17160 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17161 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17162 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17163 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17165 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17166 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17167 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17169 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17170 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17171 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17172 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17173 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17174 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17175 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17176 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17178 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17179 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17180 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17181 Stranger things have happened.
17183 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17184 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17186 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17187 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17188 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
17189 contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in the group,
17190 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
17191 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
17193 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17194 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17197 @node Gnus Unplugged
17198 @section Gnus Unplugged
17203 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
17205 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17206 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17207 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17208 read news. Believe it or not.
17210 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17211 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17212 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17213 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17214 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17216 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17217 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17218 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17219 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17220 reading news on a machine.
17222 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17223 fact, you don't even have to configure anything.
17225 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17228 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17229 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17230 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17231 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17232 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17233 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17234 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17235 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17236 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17237 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17238 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17239 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17244 @subsection Agent Basics
17246 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17248 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17249 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17250 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17251 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17253 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17254 connected to the net continuously.
17256 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17257 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17259 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17264 @findex gnus-unplugged
17265 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17266 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17267 already fetched while in this mode.
17270 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17271 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17272 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17273 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
17274 Source Specifiers}).
17277 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
17278 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
17279 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
17280 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
17281 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
17284 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17285 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17286 then you read the news offline.
17289 And then you go to step 2.
17292 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17298 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17299 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17300 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17301 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17302 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17303 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17304 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} groups in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17305 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17308 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17309 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17310 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17311 is probably best to start with a category @xref{Agent Categories}.
17313 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17314 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17315 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17316 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17317 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17318 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17322 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17326 @node Agent Categories
17327 @subsection Agent Categories
17329 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17330 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17331 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17332 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17333 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17334 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17335 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17337 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17338 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17339 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17340 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17341 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17343 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17344 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17345 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17346 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17347 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17350 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17351 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17352 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17353 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17354 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17355 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17359 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17360 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17361 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17365 @node Category Syntax
17366 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17368 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17369 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17370 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17374 @item gnus-agent-cat-name
17375 The name of the category.
17377 @item gnus-agent-cat-groups
17378 The list of groups that are in this category.
17380 @item gnus-agent-cat-predicate
17381 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17382 are eligible for downloading; and
17384 @item gnus-agent-cat-score-file
17385 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17386 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17387 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17389 @item gnus-agent-cat-enable-expiration
17390 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17391 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17392 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17393 only groups that should not be expired.
17395 @item gnus-agent-cat-days-until-old
17396 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17397 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17399 @item gnus-agent-cat-low-score
17400 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17402 @item gnus-agent-cat-high-score
17403 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17405 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-short
17406 an integer that overrides the value of
17407 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17409 @item gnus-agent-cat-length-when-long
17410 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17413 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17416 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17417 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17418 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17421 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17422 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17423 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17424 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17426 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17427 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17428 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17430 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17431 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17432 operators sprinkled in between.
17434 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17436 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17437 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17443 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17444 short (for some value of ``short'').
17446 Here's a more complex predicate:
17455 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17456 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17459 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17460 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17461 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17463 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17464 you want to do, you can write your own.
17466 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17467 bound to the value determined by calling
17468 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17469 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17470 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17471 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17472 predicate to individual groups.
17476 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17477 lines; default 100.
17480 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17481 lines; default 200.
17484 True iff the article has a download score less than
17485 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17488 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17489 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17492 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17493 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17494 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17503 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17504 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17505 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17508 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17509 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17510 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17511 something along the lines of the following:
17514 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17515 "Say whether an article is old."
17516 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17517 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17520 with the predicate then defined as:
17523 (not my-article-old-p)
17526 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17527 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17531 (require 'gnus-agent)
17532 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17533 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17534 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17537 and simply specify your predicate as:
17543 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17544 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17545 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17546 just don't give a damn.
17548 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17549 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17550 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17551 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
17552 parameters like so:
17555 (agent-predicate . short)
17558 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17559 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17560 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17562 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17565 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17568 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17569 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17570 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17573 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17574 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17575 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17576 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17577 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17578 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17580 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17581 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17582 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17583 if it's to be specific to that group.
17585 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
17592 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
17593 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
17599 Category specification
17603 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17609 Group/Topic Parameter specification
17612 (agent-score ("from"
17613 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
17618 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
17624 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
17625 keywords stated above.
17631 Category specification
17634 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
17640 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
17644 Group Parameter specification
17647 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
17650 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
17655 Use @code{normal} score files
17657 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
17658 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
17659 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
17660 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
17662 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
17663 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
17664 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
17665 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
17669 Category Specification
17676 Group Parameter specification
17679 (agent-score . file)
17684 @node Category Buffer
17685 @subsubsection Category Buffer
17687 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
17688 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
17689 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
17691 The following commands are available in this buffer:
17695 @kindex q (Category)
17696 @findex gnus-category-exit
17697 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
17700 @kindex e (Category)
17701 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
17702 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
17703 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
17706 @kindex k (Category)
17707 @findex gnus-category-kill
17708 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
17711 @kindex c (Category)
17712 @findex gnus-category-copy
17713 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
17716 @kindex a (Category)
17717 @findex gnus-category-add
17718 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
17721 @kindex p (Category)
17722 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
17723 Edit the predicate of the current category
17724 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
17727 @kindex g (Category)
17728 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
17729 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
17730 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
17733 @kindex s (Category)
17734 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
17735 Edit the download score rule of the current category
17736 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
17739 @kindex l (Category)
17740 @findex gnus-category-list
17741 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
17745 @node Category Variables
17746 @subsubsection Category Variables
17749 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
17750 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
17751 Hook run in category buffers.
17753 @item gnus-category-line-format
17754 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
17755 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
17756 Variables}). Valid elements are:
17760 The name of the category.
17763 The number of groups in the category.
17766 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
17767 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
17768 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
17770 @item gnus-agent-short-article
17771 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
17772 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
17774 @item gnus-agent-long-article
17775 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
17776 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
17778 @item gnus-agent-low-score
17779 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
17780 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
17783 @item gnus-agent-high-score
17784 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
17785 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
17788 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
17789 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17790 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
17791 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
17792 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
17793 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
17794 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
17795 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
17799 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17800 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
17801 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
17802 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
17803 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
17804 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
17805 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
17810 @node Agent Commands
17811 @subsection Agent Commands
17812 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
17813 @kindex J j (Agent)
17815 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
17816 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
17817 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
17821 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
17822 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
17823 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
17829 @node Group Agent Commands
17830 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
17834 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
17835 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
17836 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
17837 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
17840 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
17841 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
17842 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
17845 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
17846 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
17847 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
17848 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
17851 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
17852 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
17853 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
17854 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
17857 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
17858 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
17859 Add the current group to an Agent category
17860 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
17861 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17864 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
17865 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
17866 Remove the current group from its category, if any
17867 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
17868 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17871 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
17872 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
17873 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
17879 @node Summary Agent Commands
17880 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
17884 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
17885 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
17886 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
17889 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
17890 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
17891 Remove the downloading mark from the article
17892 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
17896 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
17897 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
17898 Toggle whether to download the article
17899 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
17903 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
17904 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
17905 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
17908 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
17909 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
17910 Download all eligible (See @pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
17911 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
17914 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
17915 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
17916 Download all processable articles in this group.
17917 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
17920 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
17921 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
17922 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
17923 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
17928 @node Server Agent Commands
17929 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
17933 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
17934 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
17935 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
17936 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
17939 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
17940 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
17941 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
17942 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
17947 @node Agent as Cache
17948 @subsection Agent as Cache
17950 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
17951 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
17952 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
17953 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
17954 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
17955 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
17956 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
17957 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
17958 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
17960 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
17961 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
17962 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
17963 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
17964 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
17967 @subsection Agent Expiry
17969 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
17970 @findex gnus-agent-expire
17971 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
17972 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
17973 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
17974 @cindex Agent expiry
17975 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
17978 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
17979 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
17980 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
17981 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
17982 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
17983 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
17984 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
17985 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
17987 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
17988 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
17989 synchronized with the group.
17991 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
17992 prevent expiration in selected groups.
17994 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
17995 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
17996 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
17997 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
17998 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
17999 be kept indefinitely.
18001 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18002 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18003 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18004 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18006 @node Agent Regeneration
18007 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18009 @cindex Agent Regeneration
18010 @cindex Gnus Agent Regeneration
18011 @cindex regeneration
18013 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18014 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18015 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18016 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18017 internal inconsistencies.
18019 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18020 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18021 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18022 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18023 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18024 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18026 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18027 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18028 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18029 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18030 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18031 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18033 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18034 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18035 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18036 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18037 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18038 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18041 @node Agent and IMAP
18042 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18044 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18045 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18046 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18047 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18049 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18050 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18051 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18052 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18054 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18055 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18056 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18057 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18059 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18060 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18061 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18062 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18063 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18064 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18066 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18067 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18068 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18069 in the group buffer.
18071 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18072 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18077 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18080 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18084 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18085 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18086 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18087 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
18088 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18089 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18090 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18091 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18094 @node Outgoing Messages
18095 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18097 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
18098 stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view
18099 them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18101 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
18102 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
18103 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
18104 messages in the draft group.
18108 @node Agent Variables
18109 @subsection Agent Variables
18112 @item gnus-agent-directory
18113 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18114 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18115 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18117 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18118 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18119 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18120 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18121 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18124 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18125 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18126 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18128 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18129 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18130 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18132 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18133 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18134 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18136 @item gnus-agent-cache
18137 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18138 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18139 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18140 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18142 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18143 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18144 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18145 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18146 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18147 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18148 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18151 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18152 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18153 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18154 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18155 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18156 read. The default is t.
18158 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18159 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18160 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18161 agent will fetch all missing headers. When @code{nil}, the agent will
18162 fetch only new headers. The default is @code{nil}.
18164 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18165 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18166 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18167 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18168 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18169 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18170 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18171 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18172 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18173 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18174 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18175 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18178 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18179 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18180 Perhaps not a Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18181 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18182 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18183 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18184 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18185 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18186 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18188 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18189 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18190 Another variable that isn't a Agent variable, yet so closely related
18191 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18192 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18193 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18195 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18196 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18197 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18198 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18199 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18204 @node Example Setup
18205 @subsection Example Setup
18207 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18208 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18209 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18212 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18213 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18214 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18216 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18217 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18218 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18220 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18221 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18223 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18224 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18225 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18228 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18229 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18232 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18233 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18234 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18235 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18236 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18239 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18240 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18241 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18242 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18243 back all the killed groups.)
18245 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18246 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18247 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18250 @node Batching Agents
18251 @subsection Batching Agents
18252 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18254 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18255 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18256 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18258 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18259 following incantation:
18263 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18267 @node Agent Caveats
18268 @subsection Agent Caveats
18270 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18271 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18275 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18277 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18278 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18279 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18281 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18282 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18284 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18288 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18289 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18290 locally stored articles.
18297 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18298 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18299 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18302 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18303 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18304 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18305 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18306 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18308 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18309 before generating the summary buffer.
18311 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18312 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18313 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18315 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18316 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18317 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18318 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18321 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18322 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18323 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18324 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18325 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18326 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18327 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18328 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18329 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18330 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18331 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18332 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18333 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18334 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18335 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
18336 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18337 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18341 @node Summary Score Commands
18342 @section Summary Score Commands
18343 @cindex score commands
18345 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18346 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18347 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18348 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18349 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18351 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18352 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18353 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18354 score file the current one.
18356 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18361 @kindex V s (Summary)
18362 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18363 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18366 @kindex V S (Summary)
18367 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18368 Display the score of the current article
18369 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18372 @kindex V t (Summary)
18373 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18374 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18375 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18376 can use @kbd{q} to quit. @kbd{e} edits the corresponding score file.
18377 When point is on a string within the match element, @kbd{e} will try to
18378 bring you to this string in the score file.
18381 @kindex V w (Summary)
18382 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18383 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18386 @kindex V R (Summary)
18387 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18388 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18389 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18390 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18391 effect you're having.
18394 @kindex V c (Summary)
18395 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18396 Make a different score file the current
18397 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18400 @kindex V e (Summary)
18401 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18402 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18403 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18407 @kindex V f (Summary)
18408 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18409 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18410 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18413 @kindex V F (Summary)
18414 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18415 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18416 after editing score files.
18419 @kindex V C (Summary)
18420 @findex gnus-score-customize
18421 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18422 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18426 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18431 @kindex V m (Summary)
18432 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18433 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18434 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18437 @kindex V x (Summary)
18438 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18439 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18440 expunge all articles below this score
18441 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18444 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18445 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18448 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18449 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18453 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18454 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18456 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18457 keys are available:
18461 Score on the author name.
18464 Score on the subject line.
18467 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
18470 Score on the @code{References} line.
18476 Score on the number of lines.
18479 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
18482 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
18483 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
18486 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
18487 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
18488 @file{ADAPT} files.)
18497 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
18503 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
18504 what headers you are scoring on.
18516 Substring matching.
18519 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
18548 Greater than number.
18553 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
18554 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
18555 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
18560 Temporary score entry.
18563 Permanent score entry.
18566 Immediately scoring.
18570 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
18571 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
18572 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
18576 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
18577 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
18578 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
18579 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
18581 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
18582 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
18583 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
18584 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
18585 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
18587 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
18588 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
18589 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
18590 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
18591 current score file.
18593 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
18594 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
18595 pretend they are keymaps or not.
18598 @node Group Score Commands
18599 @section Group Score Commands
18600 @cindex group score commands
18602 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
18607 @kindex W f (Group)
18608 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18609 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
18610 all the time. This command will flush the cache
18611 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
18615 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
18617 @findex gnus-batch-score
18618 @cindex batch scoring
18620 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
18624 @node Score Variables
18625 @section Score Variables
18626 @cindex score variables
18630 @item gnus-use-scoring
18631 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
18632 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
18633 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
18635 @item gnus-kill-killed
18636 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
18637 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
18638 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
18639 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
18640 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
18641 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
18642 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
18644 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
18645 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
18646 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
18647 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
18648 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
18650 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
18651 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
18652 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
18653 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
18655 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18656 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
18657 @cindex score cache
18658 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
18659 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
18660 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
18661 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
18662 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
18663 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
18664 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
18667 @item gnus-save-score
18668 @vindex gnus-save-score
18669 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
18670 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
18671 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
18673 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
18674 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
18675 across group visits.
18677 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18678 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
18679 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
18680 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
18681 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
18682 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
18683 manually entered data.
18685 @item gnus-summary-default-score
18686 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
18687 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
18689 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
18690 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
18691 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
18692 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
18693 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
18694 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
18696 @item gnus-score-over-mark
18697 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
18698 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
18699 default. Default is @samp{+}.
18701 @item gnus-score-below-mark
18702 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
18703 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
18704 default. Default is @samp{-}.
18706 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18707 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
18708 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
18709 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
18711 Predefined functions available are:
18714 @item gnus-score-find-single
18715 @findex gnus-score-find-single
18716 Only apply the group's own score file.
18718 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
18719 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
18720 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
18721 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
18722 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
18723 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
18724 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
18725 then a regexp match is done.
18727 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
18728 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
18730 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
18731 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
18732 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
18733 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
18735 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18736 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
18737 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
18738 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
18739 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
18743 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
18744 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
18745 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
18746 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
18747 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
18748 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
18749 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
18752 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
18753 overall score file, you could use the value
18755 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
18756 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
18759 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
18760 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
18761 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
18762 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
18763 are expired. It's 7 by default.
18765 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18766 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
18767 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
18768 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
18769 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
18770 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
18771 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
18772 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
18774 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18775 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
18776 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
18778 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
18779 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
18780 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
18781 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
18782 threading---according to the current value of
18783 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
18784 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
18785 simplified in this manner.
18790 @node Score File Format
18791 @section Score File Format
18792 @cindex score file format
18794 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
18795 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
18796 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
18798 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
18802 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
18804 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
18806 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
18808 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
18813 (mark-and-expunge -10)
18817 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
18818 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
18819 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
18820 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
18824 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
18825 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
18827 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
18828 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
18829 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
18831 Six keys are supported by this alist:
18836 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
18837 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
18838 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
18839 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
18840 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
18841 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
18842 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
18843 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
18844 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
18845 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
18846 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
18847 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
18848 to articles that matches these score entries.
18850 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
18851 score entry has one to four elements.
18855 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
18856 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
18860 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
18861 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
18862 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
18863 is successful. If this element is not present, the
18864 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
18865 instead. This is 1000 by default.
18868 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
18869 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
18870 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
18871 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
18872 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
18875 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
18876 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
18877 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
18878 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
18881 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
18882 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
18883 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
18884 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
18885 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
18886 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
18887 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
18888 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
18889 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
18890 instead, if you feel like.
18893 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
18894 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
18895 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
18896 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
18897 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin host,
18898 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks NNTP-Posting-Host in overviews:
18901 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s "NNTP-Posting-Host")
18905 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
18906 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
18908 These predicates are true if
18911 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
18914 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
18915 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
18922 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
18923 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
18924 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
18925 it's not. I think.)
18927 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
18928 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
18929 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
18930 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
18933 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
18934 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
18935 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
18936 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
18937 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
18938 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
18939 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
18943 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
18944 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
18945 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
18946 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
18947 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
18948 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
18949 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
18950 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
18953 @item Head, Body, All
18954 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
18958 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
18959 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
18960 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
18961 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
18962 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
18963 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
18964 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
18968 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
18969 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
18970 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
18971 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
18972 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
18973 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
18974 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
18975 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
18976 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
18977 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
18978 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
18982 @cindex Score File Atoms
18984 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18985 lower than this number will be marked as read.
18988 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18989 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
18991 @item mark-and-expunge
18992 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
18993 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
18996 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
18997 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
18998 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
18999 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19000 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19003 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19004 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19007 @item exclude-files
19008 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19009 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19013 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19014 ignored when handling global score files.
19017 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19018 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19019 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19020 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19023 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19024 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19025 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19026 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19028 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19032 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19035 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19036 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19037 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19038 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19039 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19041 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19042 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19043 scoring rules exist.
19046 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19047 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19048 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19049 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19050 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19051 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19052 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19053 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19054 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19055 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19056 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19060 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19061 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19062 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19063 file for a number of groups.
19066 @cindex local variables
19067 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19068 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19069 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19070 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19071 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19076 @node Score File Editing
19077 @section Score File Editing
19079 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19080 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19081 with a mode for that.
19083 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19084 additional commands:
19089 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19090 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19091 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19092 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19095 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19096 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19097 Insert the current date in numerical format
19098 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19099 you were wondering.
19102 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19103 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19104 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19105 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19106 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19111 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19113 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19114 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19116 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
19117 e} to begin editing score files.
19120 @node Adaptive Scoring
19121 @section Adaptive Scoring
19122 @cindex adaptive scoring
19124 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19125 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19126 stupidity, to be precise.
19128 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19129 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19130 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19131 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19132 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19133 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19134 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19135 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19136 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19138 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19139 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19140 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19141 might look something like this:
19144 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19145 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19146 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19147 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19148 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19149 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19150 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19151 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19152 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19153 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19154 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19155 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19158 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19159 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19160 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19161 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19162 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19163 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19166 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19167 will be applied to each article.
19169 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19170 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19171 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19172 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19174 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19175 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19176 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19177 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19179 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19180 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19181 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19182 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19184 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19185 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19186 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19187 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19188 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19189 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19191 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19192 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19193 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19195 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19196 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19197 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19199 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19200 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19201 let you use different rules in different groups.
19203 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19204 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19205 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19208 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19209 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19210 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19211 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19212 the length of the match is less than
19213 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19214 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19217 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19218 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19219 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19220 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19221 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19224 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19225 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19226 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19227 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19228 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19231 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19232 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19233 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19234 score with 30 points.
19236 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19237 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19238 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19239 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19240 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19242 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19243 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19244 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19245 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19246 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19248 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19249 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19250 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19251 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19253 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19254 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19255 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19256 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19258 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19259 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19260 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19261 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19262 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19264 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19265 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19266 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19268 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19269 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19270 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19271 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19274 @node Home Score File
19275 @section Home Score File
19277 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19278 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19279 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19280 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19282 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19283 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19284 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19286 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19287 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19292 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19296 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19297 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19301 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19305 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19306 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19309 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19310 be used as the home score file.
19313 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19316 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19321 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19324 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19325 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19328 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19329 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19331 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19333 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19334 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19337 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19338 Other functions include
19341 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19342 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19343 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19344 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19348 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19349 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19350 their own home score files:
19353 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19354 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19355 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19356 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19357 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19360 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19361 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19362 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19363 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19364 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19366 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19367 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19368 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19369 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19370 precedence over this variable.
19373 @node Followups To Yourself
19374 @section Followups To Yourself
19376 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19377 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19378 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19379 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19380 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19381 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19385 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19386 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19387 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19390 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19391 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19392 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19396 @vindex message-sent-hook
19397 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19398 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19400 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19404 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19405 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19409 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19410 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19413 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19414 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19419 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19423 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19424 is system-dependent.
19427 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19428 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19429 @cindex scoring on other headers
19431 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19432 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19433 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19434 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19435 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19437 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19438 mail groups, you have greater control. In the @pxref{To From
19439 Newsgroups} section of the manual, it's explained in greater detail what
19440 this mechanism does, but here's a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on
19441 how to allow scoring on the @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19443 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19446 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19447 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19450 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19451 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19452 time if you have much mail.
19454 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19455 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19461 @section Scoring Tips
19462 @cindex scoring tips
19468 @cindex scoring crossposts
19469 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
19470 the @code{Xref} header.
19472 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
19475 @item Multiple crossposts
19476 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
19477 more than, say, 3 groups:
19480 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
19484 @item Matching on the body
19485 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
19486 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
19487 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
19488 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
19489 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
19490 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
19491 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
19494 @item Marking as read
19495 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
19496 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
19497 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
19501 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
19503 @item Negated character classes
19504 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
19505 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
19506 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
19510 @node Reverse Scoring
19511 @section Reverse Scoring
19512 @cindex reverse scoring
19514 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
19515 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
19516 like this in your score file:
19520 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
19525 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
19526 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
19529 @node Global Score Files
19530 @section Global Score Files
19531 @cindex global score files
19533 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
19534 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
19535 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
19537 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
19538 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
19539 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
19541 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
19542 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
19543 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
19544 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
19545 files are applicable to which group.
19547 To use the score file
19548 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
19549 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
19553 (setq gnus-global-score-files
19554 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
19555 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
19558 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
19560 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
19561 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
19562 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
19563 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
19565 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
19566 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
19568 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
19569 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
19570 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
19571 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
19572 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
19573 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
19575 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
19581 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
19583 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
19585 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
19587 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
19588 lowered out of existence.
19590 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
19591 articles completely.
19594 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
19595 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
19596 old articles for a long time.
19599 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
19600 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
19601 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
19602 holding our breath yet?
19606 @section Kill Files
19609 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
19610 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
19611 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
19613 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
19614 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
19615 files into score files.
19617 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
19618 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
19619 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
19620 that isn't a very good idea.
19622 Normal kill files look like this:
19625 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
19626 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
19630 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
19631 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
19633 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
19634 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
19637 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
19642 @kindex M-k (Summary)
19643 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
19644 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
19647 @kindex M-K (Summary)
19648 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
19649 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
19652 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
19657 @kindex M-k (Group)
19658 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
19659 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
19662 @kindex M-K (Group)
19663 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
19664 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
19667 Kill file variables:
19670 @item gnus-kill-file-name
19671 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
19672 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
19673 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
19674 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
19675 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
19676 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
19678 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19679 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
19680 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
19681 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
19684 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
19685 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
19686 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
19687 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
19688 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
19689 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
19690 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
19691 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
19692 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
19694 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19695 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
19696 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
19701 @node Converting Kill Files
19702 @section Converting Kill Files
19704 @cindex converting kill files
19706 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
19707 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
19708 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
19711 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
19712 You can fetch it from
19713 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
19715 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
19716 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
19717 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
19725 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/, GroupLens} is a
19726 collaborative filtering system that helps you work together with other
19727 people to find the quality news articles out of the huge volume of
19728 news articles generated every day.
19730 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
19731 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
19732 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
19733 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
19734 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
19735 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
19736 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
19737 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
19740 @sc{Note:} Unfortunately the GroupLens system seems to have shut down,
19741 so this section is mostly of historical interest.
19744 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
19745 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
19746 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
19747 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
19751 @node Using GroupLens
19752 @subsection Using GroupLens
19754 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local
19755 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html, Better Bit
19756 Bureau (BBB)} is the only better bit in town at the moment.
19758 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
19762 @item gnus-use-grouplens
19763 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
19764 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
19765 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
19767 @item grouplens-pseudonym
19768 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
19769 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
19770 with the Better Bit Bureau.
19772 @item grouplens-newsgroups
19773 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
19774 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
19778 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
19779 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
19780 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
19781 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
19782 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
19783 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
19786 @node Rating Articles
19787 @subsection Rating Articles
19789 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
19790 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
19791 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
19792 yourself is, ``on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
19795 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
19800 @kindex r (GroupLens)
19801 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
19802 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
19805 @kindex k (GroupLens)
19806 @findex grouplens-score-thread
19807 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
19808 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
19809 threads in rec.humor.
19813 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
19814 the score of the article you're reading.
19819 @kindex n (GroupLens)
19820 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
19821 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
19824 @kindex , (GroupLens)
19825 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
19826 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
19830 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
19831 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
19834 @node Displaying Predictions
19835 @subsection Displaying Predictions
19837 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
19838 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
19839 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
19840 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
19841 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
19843 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
19844 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
19845 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
19846 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
19847 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
19848 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
19849 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
19850 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
19851 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
19852 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
19853 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
19854 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
19855 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
19857 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
19858 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
19859 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
19860 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
19862 The following are valid values for that variable.
19865 @item prediction-spot
19866 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
19869 @item confidence-interval
19870 A numeric confidence interval.
19872 @item prediction-bar
19873 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
19875 @item confidence-bar
19876 Numerical confidence.
19878 @item confidence-spot
19879 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
19881 @item prediction-num
19882 Plain-old numeric value.
19884 @item confidence-plus-minus
19885 Prediction +/- confidence.
19890 @node GroupLens Variables
19891 @subsection GroupLens Variables
19895 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
19896 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
19897 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
19898 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23n%]%)
19901 @item grouplens-bbb-host
19902 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
19905 @item grouplens-bbb-port
19906 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
19908 @item grouplens-score-offset
19909 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
19910 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
19913 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
19914 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
19915 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
19920 @node Advanced Scoring
19921 @section Advanced Scoring
19923 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
19924 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
19925 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
19926 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
19927 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
19929 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
19933 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
19934 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
19935 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
19939 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
19940 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
19942 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
19943 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
19944 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
19945 non-@code{nil} value.
19947 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
19948 operator, and various match operators.
19955 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19956 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
19957 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
19962 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
19963 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
19964 then this operator will return @code{false}.
19969 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
19970 logical negation of the value of its argument.
19974 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
19975 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
19976 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
19977 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
19978 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
19979 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
19980 the ancestry you want to go.
19982 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
19983 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
19984 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
19985 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
19986 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
19989 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
19990 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
19992 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
19993 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
19996 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
19997 when he's talking about Gnus:
20001 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20002 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20008 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20012 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20019 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20020 really don't want to read what he's written:
20024 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20025 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20029 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20030 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20031 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20038 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20039 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20040 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20041 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20045 The possibilities are endless.
20048 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20049 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20051 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20052 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20053 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20054 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20055 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20056 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20057 @samp{subject}) first.
20059 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20060 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20071 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20072 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20078 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20085 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20086 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20091 @section Score Decays
20092 @cindex score decays
20095 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20096 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20097 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20098 use them in any sensible way.
20100 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20101 @findex gnus-decay-score
20102 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20103 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20104 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20105 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20106 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20107 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20108 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20109 definition of that function:
20112 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20114 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20115 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20118 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
20120 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20122 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20125 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20126 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20127 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20128 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20132 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20135 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20138 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20142 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20143 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20144 the new score, which should be an integer.
20146 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20147 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20152 @include message.texi
20153 @chapter Emacs MIME
20154 @include emacs-mime.texi
20156 @include sieve.texi
20166 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20167 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20168 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20169 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20170 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20171 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20172 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20173 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20174 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20175 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20176 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20177 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20178 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20179 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20180 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20181 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20182 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20183 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20184 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20188 @node Process/Prefix
20189 @section Process/Prefix
20190 @cindex process/prefix convention
20192 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20193 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20195 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20196 command to be performed on.
20200 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20201 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20202 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20203 with the current one.
20205 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20206 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20207 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20209 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20210 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20213 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20214 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20216 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20219 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20220 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20221 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20222 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20224 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20225 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20226 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20227 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20228 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20229 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20230 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20231 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20233 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20234 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20235 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20236 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20237 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20241 @section Interactive
20242 @cindex interaction
20246 @item gnus-novice-user
20247 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20248 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20249 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20250 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20251 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20254 @item gnus-expert-user
20255 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20256 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20257 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20258 matter how strange.
20260 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20261 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20262 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20263 is @code{t} by default.
20265 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20266 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20267 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20272 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20273 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20274 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20276 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20277 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20278 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20279 rule of 900 to the current article.
20281 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20282 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20283 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20284 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20285 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20286 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20287 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20289 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20290 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20291 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20292 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20293 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20294 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20295 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20296 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20297 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20299 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20300 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20301 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20303 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20307 @node Formatting Variables
20308 @section Formatting Variables
20309 @cindex formatting variables
20311 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20312 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20313 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20314 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20315 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20318 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20319 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20320 lots of percentages everywhere.
20323 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20324 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20325 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20326 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20327 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20328 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20329 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20330 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20333 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20334 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20335 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20336 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20337 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20338 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20339 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20340 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20342 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20343 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20345 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20346 @findex gnus-update-format
20347 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20348 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20349 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20350 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20354 @node Formatting Basics
20355 @subsection Formatting Basics
20357 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20358 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20359 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20361 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20362 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20363 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20364 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20365 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20368 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20369 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20370 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20371 less than 4 characters wide.
20373 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20374 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20377 @node Mode Line Formatting
20378 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20380 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20381 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20382 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20383 with the following two differences:
20388 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20391 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20392 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20393 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20394 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20395 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20396 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20397 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20402 @node Advanced Formatting
20403 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20405 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20406 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20407 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20408 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20410 These are the valid modifiers:
20415 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20419 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20424 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20427 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20432 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20435 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20438 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20441 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20447 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20452 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20453 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20454 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20455 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20456 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20457 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20458 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20460 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20461 last operation, padding.
20463 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
20464 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
20465 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
20466 @xref{Compilation}.
20469 @node User-Defined Specs
20470 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20472 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20473 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20474 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20475 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20476 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20477 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20478 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20479 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20480 should protect against that.
20482 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20483 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20485 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20486 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20487 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20488 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20492 @node Formatting Fonts
20493 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20495 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20496 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20497 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20498 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20501 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20502 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20503 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20504 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20505 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20506 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20508 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20509 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20510 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20511 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20512 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20513 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20514 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20515 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20516 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20517 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20518 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20521 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20524 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20525 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20526 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20528 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20529 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20530 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20531 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20532 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20533 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20534 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20536 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20537 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20538 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20541 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20542 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20544 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20545 mode-line variables.
20547 @node Positioning Point
20548 @subsection Positioning Point
20550 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20551 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20552 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20554 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20556 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20557 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20558 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20560 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20561 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20562 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20567 @subsection Tabulation
20569 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20570 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20571 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20572 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20574 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20575 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20577 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20578 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20579 This is the soft tabulator.
20581 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20582 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20583 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20586 @node Wide Characters
20587 @subsection Wide Characters
20589 Proportional fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20590 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20591 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20593 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20594 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20595 these countries, that's not true.
20597 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20598 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20599 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20600 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20604 @node Window Layout
20605 @section Window Layout
20606 @cindex window layout
20608 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20610 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20611 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20612 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20613 @code{t} by default.
20615 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20616 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20618 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20619 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20620 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20623 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20624 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20625 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20629 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20630 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20631 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20632 possible names is listed below.
20634 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20635 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20638 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20642 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20643 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20644 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20645 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20646 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20647 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20648 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20649 size spec per split.
20651 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
20652 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
20653 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
20654 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
20655 present) gets focus.
20657 Here's a more complicated example:
20660 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
20661 (summary 0.25 point)
20662 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
20666 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
20667 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
20668 occupy, not a percentage.
20670 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
20671 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
20672 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
20673 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
20674 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
20677 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
20680 (article (horizontal 1.0
20685 (summary 0.25 point)
20690 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
20691 @code{horizontal} thingie?
20693 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
20694 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
20695 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
20696 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
20697 the screen is to be given to this strip.
20699 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
20700 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
20701 lines from the splits.
20703 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
20708 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
20709 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
20710 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
20711 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
20712 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
20713 size = number | frame-params
20714 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
20718 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
20719 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
20720 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
20721 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
20723 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
20724 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
20725 @cindex window height
20726 @cindex window width
20727 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
20728 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
20729 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
20730 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
20731 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
20732 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
20734 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
20735 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
20736 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
20737 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
20739 @findex gnus-configure-frame
20740 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
20741 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
20742 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
20743 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
20744 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
20745 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
20746 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
20747 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
20748 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
20749 configuration list.
20752 (gnus-configure-frame
20756 (article 0.3 point))
20764 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
20765 @code{frame} split:
20768 (gnus-configure-frame
20771 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
20773 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
20774 (user-position . t)
20775 (left . -1) (top . 1))
20780 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
20781 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
20782 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
20783 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
20784 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
20785 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
20786 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
20787 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
20789 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
20790 be found in its default value.
20792 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
20793 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
20794 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
20798 (message (horizontal 1.0
20799 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
20801 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
20806 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
20807 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
20808 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
20813 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
20814 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
20815 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
20816 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
20817 (name . "Message"))
20818 (message 1.0 point))))
20821 @findex gnus-add-configuration
20822 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
20823 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
20824 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
20825 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
20828 (gnus-add-configuration
20829 '(article (vertical 1.0
20831 (summary .25 point)
20835 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
20836 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
20837 Gnus has been loaded.
20839 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
20840 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
20841 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
20842 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
20843 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
20845 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
20846 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
20847 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
20850 @subsection Example Window Configurations
20854 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
20855 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
20870 (gnus-add-configuration
20873 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20875 (summary 0.16 point)
20878 (gnus-add-configuration
20881 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
20882 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
20888 @node Faces and Fonts
20889 @section Faces and Fonts
20894 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
20895 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
20896 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
20901 @section Compilation
20902 @cindex compilation
20903 @cindex byte-compilation
20905 @findex gnus-compile
20907 Remember all those line format specification variables?
20908 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
20909 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
20910 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
20911 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
20912 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
20915 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
20916 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
20917 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
20918 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
20919 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
20920 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
20921 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
20925 @section Mode Lines
20928 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
20929 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
20930 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
20931 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
20932 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
20933 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
20934 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
20937 @cindex display-time
20939 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
20940 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
20941 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
20942 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
20943 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
20944 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
20945 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
20946 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
20949 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
20951 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
20952 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
20954 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
20955 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
20956 (length display-time-string)))))
20959 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
20960 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
20961 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
20962 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
20963 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
20966 @node Highlighting and Menus
20967 @section Highlighting and Menus
20969 @cindex highlighting
20972 @vindex gnus-visual
20973 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
20974 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
20975 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
20978 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
20979 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
20982 @item group-highlight
20983 Do highlights in the group buffer.
20984 @item summary-highlight
20985 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
20986 @item article-highlight
20987 Do highlights in the article buffer.
20989 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
20991 Create menus in the group buffer.
20993 Create menus in the summary buffers.
20995 Create menus in the article buffer.
20997 Create menus in the browse buffer.
20999 Create menus in the server buffer.
21001 Create menus in the score buffers.
21003 Create menus in all buffers.
21006 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21007 buffers, you could say something like:
21010 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21013 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21016 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21019 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21020 in all Gnus buffers.
21022 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21025 @item gnus-mouse-face
21026 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21027 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21028 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21032 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21036 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21037 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21038 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21040 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21041 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21042 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21044 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21045 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21046 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21048 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21049 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21050 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21052 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21053 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21054 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21056 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21057 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21058 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21069 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21070 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21071 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21072 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21073 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21077 @vindex gnus-carpal
21078 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21079 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21080 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21085 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21086 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21087 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21089 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21090 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21091 Face used on buttons.
21093 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21094 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21095 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21097 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21098 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21099 Buttons in the group buffer.
21101 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21102 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21103 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21105 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21106 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21107 Buttons in the server buffer.
21109 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21110 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21111 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21114 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21115 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21116 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21124 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21125 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21126 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21127 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21128 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21130 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21131 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21132 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21134 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21135 been idle for thirty minutes:
21138 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21141 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21145 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21148 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
21149 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21150 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21152 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21153 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21154 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21155 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21157 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21158 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21159 @var{idle} minutes.
21161 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21162 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21165 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21166 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21167 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21169 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21170 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21171 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21172 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21174 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21175 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21177 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21179 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21182 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21183 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21184 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21185 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21186 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21187 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21188 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21189 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21190 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21191 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21192 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21194 @findex gnus-demon-init
21195 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21196 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21197 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21198 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21199 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21201 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21202 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21203 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21212 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21213 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21215 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21216 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21217 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21218 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21221 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21222 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21223 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21224 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21226 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21227 this will make spam disappear.
21229 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21232 @item gnus-use-nocem
21233 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21234 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21237 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21238 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21239 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21242 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21243 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21246 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21247 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21248 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21249 people you want to listen to. The default is
21251 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21252 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21254 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21256 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21257 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21259 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21260 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21261 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21262 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21263 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21264 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21265 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21266 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21267 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21268 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21270 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21271 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21274 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21277 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21278 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21281 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21284 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21287 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21288 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21290 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21291 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21292 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21293 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21295 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21296 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21299 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21301 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21309 This might be dangerous, though.
21311 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21312 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21313 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21314 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21316 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21317 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21318 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21319 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21320 might then see old spam.
21322 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21323 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21324 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21325 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21326 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21329 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21330 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21331 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21332 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21336 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21337 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21338 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21339 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21346 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21347 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21348 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21350 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21351 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21352 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21353 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21354 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21355 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21356 @code{undo} function.
21358 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21359 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21360 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21361 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21362 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21363 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21364 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21365 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21366 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21367 never be totally undoable.
21369 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21370 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21372 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21373 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21374 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21375 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21379 @node Predicate Specifiers
21380 @section Predicate Specifiers
21381 @cindex predicate specifiers
21383 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21384 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21385 to type all that much.
21387 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21392 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21393 gnus-article-unread-p)
21396 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21397 functions all take one parameter.
21399 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21400 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21401 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21402 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21407 @section Moderation
21410 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21411 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21412 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21415 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21419 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21422 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21424 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21429 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21430 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21431 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21434 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21435 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21438 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21439 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21443 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21446 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21447 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21451 @node Image Enhancements
21452 @section Image Enhancements
21454 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21455 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21456 taken advantage of that.
21459 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21460 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21461 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21462 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21475 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
21476 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
21477 over your shoulder as you read news.
21479 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
21488 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
21489 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
21490 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
21491 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
21492 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
21493 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
21494 @code{GIF} formats.
21497 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21498 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
21499 point your Web browser at
21500 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
21502 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
21503 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
21505 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
21506 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
21509 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
21513 @item gnus-picon-databases
21514 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
21515 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
21516 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
21517 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
21518 "/usr/local/faces")}.
21520 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
21521 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
21522 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21523 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
21525 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
21526 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
21527 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
21528 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
21530 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
21531 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
21532 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
21533 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
21534 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
21536 @item gnus-picon-file-types
21537 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
21538 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
21539 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
21544 @subsection Smileys
21549 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
21554 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
21555 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
21557 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
21558 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21561 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
21564 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
21565 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
21566 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
21567 text and maps that to file names.
21569 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
21570 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
21571 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
21572 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
21573 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
21576 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
21581 @item smiley-data-directory
21582 @vindex smiley-data-directory
21583 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
21585 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
21586 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
21587 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
21596 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21597 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21598 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21602 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21603 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
21604 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21605 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21613 Decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21614 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21615 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21616 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21618 The variable that controls this is the
21619 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21620 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21621 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21622 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21623 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21625 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21626 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21627 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21628 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21631 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21632 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21633 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21634 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21635 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21636 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21637 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21638 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21640 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21643 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21644 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21646 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21647 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21648 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21649 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21650 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21651 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21652 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21653 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21654 header data as a string.
21656 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21657 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21658 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21659 randomly generated data.
21661 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21662 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21663 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21664 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21665 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21667 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21668 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21671 (setq message-required-news-headers
21672 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21673 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21676 Using the last function would be something like this:
21679 (setq message-required-news-headers
21680 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21681 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21682 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21683 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21688 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
21691 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21692 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
21693 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
21694 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
21695 unusual directory structure.
21697 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21698 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
21699 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
21700 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
21702 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21703 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
21704 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
21705 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
21706 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
21707 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
21709 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21710 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
21711 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
21716 @subsubsection Toolbar
21720 @item gnus-use-toolbar
21721 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
21722 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
21723 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
21724 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
21726 @item gnus-group-toolbar
21727 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
21728 The toolbar in the group buffer.
21730 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
21731 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
21732 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
21734 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21735 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
21736 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
21747 @node Fuzzy Matching
21748 @section Fuzzy Matching
21749 @cindex fuzzy matching
21751 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
21752 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
21754 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
21755 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
21756 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
21758 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
21759 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
21760 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
21761 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
21762 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
21765 @node Thwarting Email Spam
21766 @section Thwarting Email Spam
21770 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21772 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
21773 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
21774 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
21775 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
21776 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
21777 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
21778 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
21779 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
21782 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
21783 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
21784 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
21785 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
21786 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
21787 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
21789 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
21792 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
21793 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
21794 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
21795 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
21796 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
21797 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
21800 @node The problem of spam
21801 @subsection The problem of spam
21803 @cindex spam filtering approaches
21804 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
21806 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21808 First, some background on spam.
21810 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
21811 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it exists
21812 because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail, so only
21813 a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to make it
21814 worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most common
21815 spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for further
21816 spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers}, but terms like
21817 @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, and @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
21819 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
21820 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
21821 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
21822 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
21823 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
21824 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
21825 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
21826 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
21827 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
21830 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering. If you get 200
21831 spam messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you
21832 block @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about
21833 @samp{VIAGRA}, you discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the
21834 message. This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate
21835 e-mail. For instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest
21836 has been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it
21837 @strong{contained} words that were common in spam messages.
21838 Nevertheless, in isolated cases, with great care, direct filtering of
21839 mail can be useful.
21841 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
21842 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
21843 @code{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @samp{X} in
21844 China, Ghana, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
21845 @code{N} systems enter @samp{X} or the spam e-mail from @samp{X} into
21846 a database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the
21847 number of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When
21848 a user of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a
21849 message is spam, he consults one of those @code{N} systems.
21851 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
21852 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
21853 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
21854 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
21855 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
21856 sending spam, and their web sites have been shut down for some time
21857 because of the incident.
21859 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
21860 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
21861 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
21862 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
21863 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
21864 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
21865 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
21866 to store the database of spam analyses.
21868 @node Anti-Spam Basics
21869 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
21873 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
21875 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
21876 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
21878 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
21879 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
21880 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
21881 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
21882 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
21883 part of the mail address.)
21886 (setq message-default-news-headers
21887 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
21890 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
21891 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21896 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
21897 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
21898 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
21904 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
21905 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
21906 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
21907 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
21909 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
21910 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
21911 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
21912 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
21913 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
21914 your fancy split rule in this way:
21919 (to "larsi" "misc")
21923 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
21924 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
21925 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
21926 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
21927 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
21929 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
21930 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
21931 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
21932 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
21933 cosmic balance somewhat.
21935 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
21936 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
21937 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
21938 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
21943 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
21944 @cindex SpamAssassin
21945 @cindex Vipul's Razor
21948 The days where the hints in the previous section was sufficient in
21949 avoiding spam is coming to an end. There are many tools out there
21950 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
21951 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
21952 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
21953 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
21954 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
21956 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
21957 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
21958 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
21959 Specifiers}) follows.
21963 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
21966 :postscript "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
21969 Once you managed to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
21970 the mail contain e.g. a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
21971 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
21974 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
21978 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
21981 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
21982 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
21986 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
21987 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
21988 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
21989 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
21992 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
21994 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
21996 (let ((buf (or (get-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
21997 (get-buffer " *nnml move*"))))
21999 (progn (message "Oops, cannot find message buffer") nil)
22001 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22002 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22006 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22007 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22008 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22011 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22012 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22014 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22015 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22016 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22020 @subsection Hashcash
22023 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22024 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22025 you cannot rely on that everyone in the world uses this technique,
22026 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22027 in smaller communities.
22029 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22030 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22031 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22032 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22033 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22034 instead requires that everyone you communicate with supports the
22035 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22036 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22037 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22038 one of them separately.
22041 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22042 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22043 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22044 header. For more details, and for the external application
22045 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22046 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22047 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22049 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22053 (require 'hashcash)
22054 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22057 The @code{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22058 contrib directory. or at
22059 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22061 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22065 @item hashcash-default-payment
22066 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22067 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22068 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22069 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22071 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22072 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22073 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22074 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22075 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22076 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22077 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22078 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22079 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22083 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22087 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22088 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22089 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22090 a useful contribution, however.
22092 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22093 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22094 @cindex spam filtering
22097 The idea behind @code{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22098 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @code{spam.el} does two things: it
22099 filters incoming mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22100 @emph{Ham} is the name used throughout @code{spam.el} to indicate
22103 So, what happens when you load @code{spam.el}? First of all, you get
22104 the following keyboard commands:
22114 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22115 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22117 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22118 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22119 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22120 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22126 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22127 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22129 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22135 Also, when you load @code{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22136 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22139 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22140 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22141 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22142 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22143 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22144 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22145 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22146 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22147 will be detected later.
22149 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22150 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22151 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22152 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22153 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22154 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22155 by customizing the corresponding variable
22156 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22157 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22158 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22159 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22160 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22161 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22162 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22165 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22167 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22168 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22169 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22170 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22171 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22172 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22173 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to nil. You should
22174 remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary buffer for
22175 every message that is not spam after all. To remove the @samp{$}
22176 mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or @kbd{d} for
22177 declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a group, all
22178 spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam processor which
22179 will study them as spam samples.
22181 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22182 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22183 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22184 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22185 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22186 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22187 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22188 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22191 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22192 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22193 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks.
22197 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22198 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22202 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22203 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22204 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22205 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22206 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22207 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22210 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22211 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22212 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22213 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22214 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22215 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22216 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22217 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22218 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with
22219 @code{customize-variable gnus-ham-process-destinations}). The ultimate
22220 location is a group name. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22221 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
22222 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22223 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
22225 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22226 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22228 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
22229 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22230 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22231 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22232 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22233 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22234 customize this variable with @code{customize-variable
22235 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). The ultimate location is a group
22236 name. If the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set,
22237 the spam articles are only expired.
22239 To use the @code{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22240 must add the following to your fancy split list
22241 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22247 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22248 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22249 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22251 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22252 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22253 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22254 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}.
22256 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22257 e.g. @samp{'spam-use-regex-headers}. Why is this useful?
22259 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22260 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22263 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22264 (any "ding" "ding")
22270 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22271 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22272 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22273 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22274 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22275 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22277 You can let SpamAssassin headers supercede ding rules, but all other
22278 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22279 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22282 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22283 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22284 (any "ding" "ding")
22290 Basically, this lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks
22291 depending on your particular needs. You don't have to throw all mail
22292 into all the spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that
22293 messages to mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have
22294 resource-intensive blackhole checks performed on them. You could also
22295 specify different spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap
22298 You still have to have specific checks such as
22299 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to t, even if you specifically
22300 invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is that when
22301 loading @code{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on
22302 what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
22304 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22306 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22307 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22308 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22309 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22310 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22311 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22312 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22313 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22315 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22317 @emph{TODO: Currently, spam.el only supports insertion of articles
22318 into a back end. There is no way to tell spam.el that an article is no
22319 longer spam or ham.}
22321 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22322 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22325 The following are the methods you can use to control the behavior of
22326 @code{spam-split} and their corresponding spam and ham processors:
22329 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22330 * BBDB Whitelists::
22331 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22332 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22334 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22336 * ifile spam filtering::
22337 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22338 * Extending the spam elisp package::
22341 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
22342 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
22343 @cindex spam filtering
22344 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
22345 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
22348 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
22350 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
22351 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
22352 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
22353 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
22358 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
22360 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
22361 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
22362 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22363 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
22364 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22368 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
22370 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
22371 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22372 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
22376 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
22378 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22379 customizing the group parameters or the
22380 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22381 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22382 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
22386 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
22388 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22389 customizing the group parameters or the
22390 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22391 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22392 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22393 whitelist. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22394 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22398 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
22399 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
22400 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
22401 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
22402 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
22404 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
22405 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
22406 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
22407 Emacs regular expression syntax.
22409 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
22410 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
22411 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
22412 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
22413 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
22414 @file{blacklist} respectively.
22416 @node BBDB Whitelists
22417 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
22418 @cindex spam filtering
22419 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
22420 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
22423 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
22425 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22426 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
22427 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
22428 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
22429 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
22430 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
22431 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
22435 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
22437 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
22438 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
22439 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
22440 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
22441 classified as spammers.
22445 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
22447 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22448 customizing the group parameters or the
22449 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22450 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
22451 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
22452 BBDB. Note that this ham processor has no effect in @emph{spam}
22453 or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22457 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
22458 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
22459 @cindex spam reporting
22460 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
22461 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
22464 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
22466 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22467 customizing the group parameters or the
22468 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22469 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22470 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators.
22474 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
22475 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
22476 @cindex spam filtering
22477 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
22480 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
22482 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
22483 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
22484 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
22485 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
22486 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
22487 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
22488 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
22494 @subsubsection Blackholes
22495 @cindex spam filtering
22496 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
22499 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
22501 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
22502 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
22503 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
22504 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
22505 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
22506 contains outdated servers.
22508 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
22509 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
22510 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
22511 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
22512 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
22513 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
22517 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
22519 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
22523 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
22525 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
22526 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
22530 @defvar spam-use-dig
22532 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
22533 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
22537 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
22538 ham processor for blackholes.
22540 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
22541 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
22542 @cindex spam filtering
22543 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
22546 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
22548 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
22549 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
22550 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
22551 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
22552 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
22553 message is spam or ham, respectively.
22557 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
22559 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22560 the message, positively identify it as spam.
22564 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
22566 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
22567 the message, positively identify it as ham.
22571 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
22572 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
22575 @subsubsection Bogofilter
22576 @cindex spam filtering
22577 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
22580 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
22582 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22585 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
22586 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
22587 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
22588 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
22589 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
22590 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
22592 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on an internal
22593 threshold, set at compilation time. That threshold can't be
22596 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
22597 processing will be turned off.
22599 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
22603 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
22605 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
22606 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
22607 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
22608 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
22609 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
22610 installation documents for details.
22612 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
22616 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
22617 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22618 customizing the group parameters or the
22619 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22620 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
22621 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
22624 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
22625 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22626 customizing the group parameters or the
22627 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22628 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22629 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
22630 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22631 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22634 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
22636 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
22637 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
22638 database directory.
22642 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to ifile in intent and
22643 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22644 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
22645 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
22646 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
22647 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
22649 @node ifile spam filtering
22650 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
22651 @cindex spam filtering
22652 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
22655 @defvar spam-use-ifile
22657 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use ifile, a
22658 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
22662 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
22664 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
22665 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
22666 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
22670 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
22672 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
22673 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
22674 the default value of @samp{spam}.
22677 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
22679 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
22680 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
22684 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
22685 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
22686 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
22687 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
22690 @node spam-stat spam filtering
22691 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
22692 @cindex spam filtering
22693 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
22697 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
22699 @defvar spam-use-stat
22701 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
22702 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
22706 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
22707 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22708 customizing the group parameters or the
22709 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22710 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
22711 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
22714 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
22715 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
22716 customizing the group parameters or the
22717 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
22718 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
22719 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
22720 of non-spam messages. Note that this ham processor has no effect in
22721 @emph{spam} or @emph{unclassified} groups.
22724 This enables spam.el to cooperate with spam-stat.el. spam-stat.el
22725 provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database, which unlike ifile or
22726 Bogofilter does not require external programs. A spam and a ham
22727 processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for @code{spam-split}
22730 @node Extending the spam elisp package
22731 @subsubsection Extending the spam elisp package
22732 @cindex spam filtering
22733 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
22734 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
22736 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
22737 incoming mail, provide the following:
22745 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
22746 "True if blackbox should be used.")
22751 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
22753 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
22758 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
22759 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}. See the existing
22760 @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can do.
22762 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
22763 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
22764 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
22768 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
22775 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
22776 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
22779 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22780 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
22781 Only applicable to spam groups.")
22783 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox"
22784 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
22785 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
22793 (defun spam-blackbox-register-spam-routine ()
22794 (spam-generic-register-routine
22795 ;; @r{the spam function}
22797 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22798 (when (stringp from)
22799 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer from))))
22800 ;; @r{the ham function}
22803 (defun spam-blackbox-register-ham-routine ()
22804 (spam-generic-register-routine
22805 ;; @r{the spam function}
22807 ;; @r{the ham function}
22809 (let ((from (spam-fetch-field-from-fast article)))
22810 (when (stringp from)
22811 (blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender from))))))
22814 Write the @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-ham-sender} and
22815 @code{blackbox-do-something-with-this-spammer} functions. You can add
22816 more complex code than fetching the message sender, but keep in mind
22817 that retrieving the whole message takes significantly longer than the
22818 sender through @code{spam-fetch-field-from-fast}, because the message
22819 senders are kept in memory by Gnus.
22824 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22825 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
22826 @cindex Paul Graham
22827 @cindex Graham, Paul
22828 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
22829 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
22830 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
22832 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
22833 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
22834 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
22835 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
22836 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
22837 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
22838 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
22839 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
22840 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
22843 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
22844 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
22845 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
22846 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
22847 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
22848 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
22849 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
22850 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
22852 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
22853 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
22854 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
22855 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
22856 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
22859 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
22860 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
22861 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
22864 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22865 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
22867 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
22868 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
22869 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
22870 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
22871 need several hundred emails in both collections.
22873 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
22874 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
22875 per mail. Use the following:
22877 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
22878 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
22879 is treated as one spam mail.
22882 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
22883 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
22884 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
22887 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
22888 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
22889 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
22890 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
22891 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
22892 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
22894 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
22895 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
22896 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
22897 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
22898 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
22901 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
22902 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
22903 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
22904 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
22907 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
22908 reset the dictionary.
22910 @defun spam-stat-reset
22911 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
22914 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
22915 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
22916 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
22917 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
22918 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
22919 only non-spam mails.
22921 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
22922 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
22923 to update the dictionary incrementally.
22926 @defun spam-stat-save
22927 Save the dictionary.
22930 @defvar spam-stat-file
22931 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
22932 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
22935 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
22936 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
22938 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
22939 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22942 (require 'spam-stat)
22946 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
22949 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
22950 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
22951 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
22952 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
22954 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
22955 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
22956 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
22957 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
22960 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22961 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22965 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
22966 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
22969 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
22970 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
22971 expression are considered potential spam.
22974 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22975 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22976 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22980 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
22981 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
22982 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
22983 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
22984 mails, when creating the dictionary!
22987 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
22988 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
22989 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
22993 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
22994 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
22995 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
22996 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
22997 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
23001 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
23002 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
23003 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
23004 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
23009 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23010 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
23012 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
23014 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
23015 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
23016 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23019 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
23020 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
23021 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
23024 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
23025 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
23026 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
23027 already been processed as non-spam.
23030 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
23031 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
23032 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
23033 been processed as spam.
23036 @defun spam-stat-save
23037 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
23038 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23041 @defun spam-stat-load
23042 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
23043 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
23046 @defun spam-stat-score-word
23047 Return the spam score for a word.
23050 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
23051 Return the spam score for a buffer.
23054 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
23055 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
23056 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23059 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
23060 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23063 (require 'spam-stat)
23067 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
23070 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23071 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23072 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23073 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23074 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23075 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23076 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23077 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23078 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23079 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23080 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
23081 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
23082 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23083 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23086 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
23089 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
23090 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
23091 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
23092 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
23093 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
23094 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
23097 @node Various Various
23098 @section Various Various
23104 @item gnus-home-directory
23105 @vindex gnus-home-directory
23106 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
23107 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
23109 @item gnus-directory
23110 @vindex gnus-directory
23111 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
23112 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
23113 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
23115 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
23116 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
23117 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
23118 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
23120 @item gnus-default-directory
23121 @vindex gnus-default-directory
23122 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
23123 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
23124 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
23125 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
23126 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
23127 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
23130 @vindex gnus-verbose
23131 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
23132 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
23133 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
23134 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
23135 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
23137 @item gnus-verbose-backends
23138 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
23139 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
23140 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
23142 @item nnheader-max-head-length
23143 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
23144 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
23145 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
23146 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
23147 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
23148 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
23149 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
23150 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
23151 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
23153 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
23154 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
23155 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
23156 read when doing the operation described above.
23158 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23159 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23161 @cindex invalid characters in file names
23162 @cindex characters in file names
23163 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
23164 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
23165 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
23168 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
23172 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
23173 Windows (phooey) systems.
23175 @item gnus-hidden-properties
23176 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
23177 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
23178 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
23179 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
23181 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
23182 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
23183 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
23184 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
23185 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
23187 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
23188 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
23189 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
23191 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23192 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
23194 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
23195 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
23196 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
23197 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
23200 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
23208 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
23209 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
23211 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
23213 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
23219 Not because of victories @*
23222 but for the common sunshine,@*
23224 the largess of the spring.
23228 but for the day's work done@*
23229 as well as I was able;@*
23230 not for a seat upon the dais@*
23231 but at the common table.@*
23236 @chapter Appendices
23239 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
23240 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
23241 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
23242 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
23243 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
23244 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
23245 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
23246 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
23247 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
23254 @cindex Installing under XEmacs
23256 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
23257 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
23258 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{w3}, @samp{mh-e},
23259 @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{rmail}, @samp{eterm}, @samp{mail-lib},
23260 @samp{xemacs-base}, @samp{sh-script} and @samp{fsf-compat}. The
23261 @samp{misc-games} package is required for Morse decoding.
23268 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
23269 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
23271 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
23272 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
23273 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
23274 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
23275 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
23277 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
23278 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
23279 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
23280 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
23281 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
23282 appropriate name, don't you think?)
23284 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
23285 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
23286 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
23287 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
23290 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
23291 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
23292 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
23293 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
23294 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
23295 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
23296 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
23297 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
23298 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
23302 @node Gnus Versions
23303 @subsection Gnus Versions
23305 @cindex September Gnus
23307 @cindex Quassia Gnus
23308 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
23311 @cindex Gnus versions
23313 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
23314 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
23315 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
23317 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
23318 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
23320 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
23321 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
23323 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
23324 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
23326 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
23327 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
23330 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
23332 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
23333 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
23334 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
23335 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
23336 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
23337 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
23340 @node Other Gnus Versions
23341 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
23344 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
23345 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
23346 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
23347 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
23349 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
23350 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
23351 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
23352 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
23359 What's the point of Gnus?
23361 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
23362 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
23363 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
23364 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
23365 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
23366 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
23367 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
23368 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
23369 keep track of millions of people who post?
23371 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
23372 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
23373 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
23374 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
23375 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
23376 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
23377 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
23378 every one of you to explore and invent.
23380 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
23381 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
23384 @node Compatibility
23385 @subsection Compatibility
23387 @cindex compatibility
23388 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
23389 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
23390 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
23395 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
23399 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
23402 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
23405 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
23406 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
23407 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
23408 important variables have their values copied into their global
23409 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
23410 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
23412 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
23413 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
23414 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
23415 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
23416 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
23420 @cindex highlighting
23421 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
23422 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
23423 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
23424 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
23425 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
23426 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
23429 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
23430 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
23431 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
23432 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
23434 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
23435 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
23436 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
23437 to stop doing it the old way.
23439 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
23441 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
23443 @cindex reporting bugs
23445 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
23446 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
23447 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
23449 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
23450 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
23451 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
23452 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
23457 @subsection Conformity
23459 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
23460 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
23468 There are no known breaches of this standard.
23472 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
23474 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
23475 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
23476 We do have some breaches to this one.
23482 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
23483 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
23484 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
23485 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
23486 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
23491 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
23492 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
23493 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
23494 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
23496 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
23498 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
23500 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
23501 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
23503 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
23506 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
23507 published as a Information RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
23508 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
23509 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
23510 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
23513 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
23514 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
23515 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
23516 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
23518 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
23519 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
23521 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
23522 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
23523 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
23524 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
23525 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
23526 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
23527 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
23528 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
23532 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
23533 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
23538 @subsection Emacsen
23544 Gnus should work on :
23552 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
23556 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
23557 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
23560 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
23561 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
23562 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
23566 @node Gnus Development
23567 @subsection Gnus Development
23569 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
23570 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
23571 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
23572 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
23573 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
23574 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
23575 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
23576 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
23578 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
23579 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
23580 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
23581 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
23582 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
23585 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
23586 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
23587 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
23588 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
23589 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
23591 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
23592 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
23593 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
23594 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
23595 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
23596 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
23597 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
23598 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
23599 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
23600 can't be assumed to do so.
23605 @subsection Contributors
23606 @cindex contributors
23608 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
23609 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
23610 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
23611 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
23612 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
23613 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
23614 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
23615 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
23616 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
23617 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
23619 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
23625 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
23628 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
23629 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
23630 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
23631 functionality and stuff.
23634 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
23635 well as numerous other things).
23638 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
23641 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
23644 Justin Sheehy--the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
23647 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
23650 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
23651 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
23654 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
23657 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
23658 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
23661 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
23664 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
23667 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
23670 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
23673 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
23674 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
23677 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
23680 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
23683 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
23686 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
23690 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
23693 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
23696 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
23699 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
23700 well as autoconf support.
23704 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
23705 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
23707 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
23722 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
23724 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
23728 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
23738 Alexei V. Barantsev,
23753 Massimo Campostrini,
23758 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
23759 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
23763 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
23766 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
23772 Michael Welsh Duggan,
23777 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
23781 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
23789 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
23791 Michelangelo Grigni,
23795 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
23797 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
23799 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
23806 François Felix Ingrand,
23807 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
23808 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
23810 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
23820 Peter Skov Knudsen,
23821 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
23823 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
23824 Thor Kristoffersen,
23827 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
23845 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
23846 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
23853 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
23858 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
23862 John McClary Prevost,
23868 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
23873 Christian von Roques,
23876 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
23883 Philippe Schnoebelen,
23885 Randal L. Schwartz,
23899 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
23904 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
23924 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
23925 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
23926 (550kB and counting).
23928 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
23931 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
23932 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
23936 @subsection New Features
23937 @cindex new features
23940 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
23941 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
23942 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
23943 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
23944 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
23945 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
23948 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
23949 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
23950 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
23953 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
23955 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
23960 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
23961 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
23964 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
23965 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
23968 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
23971 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
23972 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
23973 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
23976 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
23977 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
23978 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
23979 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
23982 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
23983 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
23986 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
23987 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
23988 (@pxref{The Active File}).
23991 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
23992 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
23995 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
23996 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
23997 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24000 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
24001 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
24002 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
24005 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
24006 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
24009 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
24010 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
24013 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
24014 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
24017 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
24018 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24021 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
24022 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
24025 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
24026 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24029 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
24032 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
24033 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
24036 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
24037 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
24040 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
24041 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
24044 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
24047 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
24048 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24051 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
24055 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
24059 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
24060 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
24063 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
24069 @node September Gnus
24070 @subsubsection September Gnus
24074 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
24078 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
24083 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
24084 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
24088 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
24089 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
24093 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
24097 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
24098 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
24101 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
24105 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
24108 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
24111 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
24114 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
24118 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
24119 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
24122 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
24126 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
24130 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
24134 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
24138 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
24141 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
24142 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
24145 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
24149 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
24150 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
24153 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
24156 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
24157 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
24158 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
24161 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
24165 The Gnus cache is much faster.
24168 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
24172 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
24173 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24176 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
24177 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
24180 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
24181 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
24184 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
24185 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
24186 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
24189 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
24190 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
24193 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
24196 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24199 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
24202 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
24205 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
24206 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
24209 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
24213 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
24216 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
24221 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
24224 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
24228 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
24231 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
24235 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
24238 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
24241 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
24242 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
24245 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
24246 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
24250 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
24251 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
24254 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
24258 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
24259 buffer to allow easier treatment.
24262 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
24265 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
24269 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
24273 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
24274 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
24277 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
24281 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
24282 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
24285 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
24286 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24289 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
24293 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
24296 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
24299 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
24305 @subsubsection Red Gnus
24307 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
24311 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
24318 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
24321 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
24322 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
24325 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
24326 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
24330 Article washing status can be displayed in the
24331 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
24334 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
24337 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
24338 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
24341 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
24345 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
24346 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
24350 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
24351 Server Internals}).
24354 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
24358 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
24361 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
24362 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
24365 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
24366 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
24367 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
24370 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
24371 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24374 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
24375 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
24378 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
24382 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
24383 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24386 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
24387 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
24390 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
24394 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
24397 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
24401 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
24402 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
24405 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
24406 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
24409 A new command for reading collections of documents
24410 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
24411 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
24414 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
24418 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
24419 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
24422 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
24423 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
24424 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
24427 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
24428 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
24432 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
24436 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
24440 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
24445 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
24449 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
24453 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
24454 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
24457 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
24463 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
24465 New features in Gnus 5.6:
24470 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
24471 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
24472 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
24475 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
24476 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
24477 group, which is created automatically.
24480 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
24484 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
24487 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
24488 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
24491 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
24495 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
24498 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
24499 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
24502 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
24505 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section ``Symbolic
24506 Prefixes'' in the Gnus manual for details.
24509 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
24510 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
24513 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
24514 control over simplification.
24517 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
24520 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
24524 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
24527 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
24530 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
24531 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
24532 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
24535 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
24536 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
24539 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
24543 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
24544 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
24547 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
24548 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
24551 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
24555 A history of where mails have been split is available.
24558 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
24561 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
24562 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
24565 A new function for citing in Message has been
24566 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
24569 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
24572 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
24576 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
24577 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
24580 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
24581 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
24584 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
24587 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
24591 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
24592 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
24594 New features in Gnus 5.8:
24599 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
24600 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
24602 If you used procmail like in
24605 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
24606 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
24607 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
24608 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
24611 this now has changed to
24615 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
24619 More information is available in the info doc at Select Methods ->
24620 Getting Mail -> Mail Sources
24623 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
24624 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
24627 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
24628 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
24631 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
24632 called to position point.
24635 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
24636 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
24639 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
24640 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
24643 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
24644 subtly different manner.
24647 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
24648 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
24649 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
24652 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
24657 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
24659 New features in Gnus 5.10:
24664 The revised Gnus FAQ is included in the manual, @xref{Frequently Asked
24668 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
24670 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
24671 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
24672 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
24673 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
24674 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
24675 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
24676 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
24677 isn't save in general.
24682 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
24683 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
24684 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
24685 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
24690 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} installs key bindings in dired buffers to send
24691 a file as an attachment (@kbd{C-c C-a}), open a file using the approriate
24692 mailcap entry (@kbd{C-c C-f}), and print a file using the mailcap entry
24693 (@kbd{C-c P}). It is enabled with
24695 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
24699 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. To get started do @kbd{B
24700 nnrss RET RET} in the Group buffer.
24703 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
24708 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs -- some of
24709 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
24711 Picons are small "personal icons" representing users, domain and
24712 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer. To enable
24713 picons, install the picons database from
24714 @url{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html} and point
24715 @code{gnus-picon-databases} to that location.
24718 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
24719 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
24722 Retrieval of charters and control messages
24724 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
24725 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
24730 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
24731 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
24732 for sending yourself reminders. Setup with @code{(gnus-delay-initialize)}.
24735 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
24736 decompressed when activated.
24739 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
24740 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
24743 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @code{W p}.
24746 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
24747 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
24750 Warn about email replies to news
24752 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
24753 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
24757 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
24758 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
24762 The new @code{recent} mark "." indicates newly arrived messages (as
24763 opposed to old but unread messages).
24766 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
24767 Gcc articles as read.
24770 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
24773 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
24774 related commands in mailing list groups.
24777 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
24778 in English, see @code{gnus-treat-date-english}.
24781 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail, see
24782 @code{message-sendmail-envelope-from}.
24785 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
24786 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
24789 TLS wrapper shipped with Gnus
24791 TLS/SSL is now supported in IMAP and NNTP via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The
24792 old TLS/SSL support via (external third party) @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL
24796 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
24798 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
24799 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
24800 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
24801 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
24802 the second parameter.
24804 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
24805 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
24806 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
24807 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
24808 process. It now uses @command{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
24809 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
24810 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
24811 complete replacement for the @command{configure; make; make install}
24812 cycle used under Unix systems.
24814 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
24818 Support for non-ASCII domain names
24820 Message supports non-ASCII domain names in From:, To: and Cc: and will
24821 query you whether to perform encoding when you try to send a message.
24822 The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this. Gnus will also decode
24823 non-ASCII domain names in From:, To: and Cc: when you view a message.
24824 The variable @code{gnus-use-idna} controls this.
24827 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
24829 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
24830 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
24831 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
24832 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
24836 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
24838 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to t, then Gnus will not scroll
24839 down to show you a page that contains only boring text, which by
24840 default means cited text and signature. You can customize what is
24841 skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
24843 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
24844 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
24845 message cited below.
24848 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
24851 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
24853 Earlier this was done only via @code{G p} (or @code{G c}), which stored
24854 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
24855 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
24856 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
24857 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
24860 (setq gnus-parameters
24862 (gnus-show-threads nil)
24863 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
24864 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
24865 (to-group . "\\1"))))
24869 Smileys (":-)", ";-)" etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
24871 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to disable it.
24874 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
24876 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
24877 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
24878 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversally) the
24879 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
24880 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
24881 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
24882 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
24883 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
24886 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
24888 Message now asks if you wish to remove "(was: <old subject>)" from
24889 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
24890 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
24891 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
24892 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
24893 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
24896 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
24897 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
24901 Improved anti-spam features.
24903 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
24904 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
24905 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
24906 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
24910 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
24913 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
24914 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
24917 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
24920 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
24922 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
24923 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
24924 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
24925 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
24926 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
24927 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
24928 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
24929 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
24930 when getting new mail, remove the function.
24933 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
24935 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
24936 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
24937 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
24938 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
24939 you are using the string "nnml:foo, nnml:bar" (indicating Gcc into two
24940 groups) you must change it to return the list ("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar"),
24941 otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted incorrectly. Note that
24942 returning the string "nnml:foo, nnml:bar" was incorrect earlier, it
24943 just didn't generate any problems since it was inserted directly.
24946 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
24948 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
24949 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
24955 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
24956 and all nntp and nnimap servers from gnus-select-method and
24957 gnus-secondary-select-method are agentized by default. Earlier only the
24958 server in gnus-select-method was agentized by the default, and the agent
24959 was disabled by default. When the agent is enabled, headers are now
24960 also retrieved from the Agent cache instead of the backends when
24961 possible. Earlier this only happened in the unplugged state. You can
24962 enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and @kbd{J r} in the server
24963 buffer. Gnus will not download articles into the Agent cache, unless
24964 you instruct it to do so, though, by using @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from
24965 the Group buffer. You revert to the old behaviour of having the Agent
24966 disabled with @kbd{(setq gnus-agent nil)}. Note that putting
24967 @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} is not needed any more.
24970 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
24972 The default value changed to "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n".
24973 Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers}, @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and
24974 @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} changed their default so that the users
24975 name will be replaced by the recipient's name or the group name
24976 posting to for NNTP groups.
24979 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
24981 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
24982 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
24985 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
24987 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
24988 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
24989 lisp directory into load-path.
24991 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
24992 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
24995 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
24997 A new command which starts gnus offline in slave mode.
25000 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
25002 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq mail-user-agent
25003 'gnus-user-agent)} in .emacs convinces Rmail to compose, reply and
25004 forward messages in message-mode, where you can enjoy the power of
25008 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
25010 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
25012 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
25013 'bbdb-complete-name)
25017 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
25019 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} (or
25020 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments}) is non-@code{nil}, attach
25021 local files as external parts.
25023 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o} on
25024 @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an external one.
25025 @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes
25026 a part. It works only on back ends that support editing.
25029 @code{gnus-default-charset}
25031 The default value is determined from the current-language-environment
25032 variable, instead of 'iso-8859-1. Also the ".*" item in
25033 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
25036 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
25038 Add a new format of match like
25040 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
25041 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25043 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
25045 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
25046 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
25050 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
25052 X-Draft-From and X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information have been added into
25053 these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you need add
25054 those two headers too.
25057 Gnus reads the NOV and articles in the Agent if plugged.
25059 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
25060 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
25061 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
25064 Gnus supports the "format=flowed" (RFC 2646) parameter.
25066 On composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}. Decoding
25067 format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier versions.
25070 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
25072 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
25075 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
25077 Gnus includes a new backend @file{nnmaildir.el}.
25080 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
25082 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
25083 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be printed using
25084 @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
25087 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
25089 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
25093 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
25095 This means a header "Cancel-Lock" is inserted in news posting. It is
25096 used to determine if you wrote a article or not (for cancelling and
25097 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
25098 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
25099 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
25100 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
25101 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
25102 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
25105 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
25107 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
25108 complete Sieve script is generated using @code{D g} from the Group buffer,
25109 and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the generated Sieve
25110 buffer. Search the online Gnus manual for "sieve", and see the new
25111 Sieve manual, for more information.
25114 Extended format specs.
25116 Format spec "%&user-date;" is added into
25117 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
25118 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
25119 "%u&foo;", which invokes function
25120 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because "&" is used as the
25121 escape character, old user defined format "%u&" is no longer supported.
25124 @code{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
25126 It was aliased to @code{Y c}
25127 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
25128 out other articles.
25131 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
25133 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
25134 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
25135 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
25138 The nnml and nnfolder backends store marks for each groups.
25140 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
25141 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
25142 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
25143 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
25144 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
25145 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
25146 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
25147 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
25148 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
25149 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
25150 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
25153 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named "Misc" has
25154 been renamed to "Gnus".
25157 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named "@acronym{MML}" has been
25158 renamed to "Attachments". Note that this menu also contains security
25159 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
25160 message, Message Manual}).
25163 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
25164 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
25166 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
25167 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
25168 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
25170 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
25174 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
25175 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
25177 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
25178 additional lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
25179 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
25180 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
25183 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
25186 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
25189 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
25190 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
25197 @section The Manual
25201 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
25202 either @code{texi2dvi}
25204 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
25205 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
25207 to get what you hold in your hands now.
25209 The following conventions have been used:
25214 This is a @samp{string}
25217 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
25220 This is a @file{file}
25223 This is a @code{symbol}
25227 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
25231 (setq flargnoze "yes")
25234 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
25237 (setq flumphel 'yes)
25240 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
25241 ever get them confused.
25245 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
25246 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
25247 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
25248 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
25249 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
25250 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
25251 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
25257 @node On Writing Manuals
25258 @section On Writing Manuals
25260 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
25261 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
25262 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
25263 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
25264 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
25265 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
25268 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
25269 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
25270 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
25273 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
25274 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
25279 @section Terminology
25281 @cindex terminology
25286 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
25287 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
25288 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
25289 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
25290 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
25294 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
25295 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
25296 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
25297 not posting, and replying is not following up.
25301 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
25305 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
25310 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
25311 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
25312 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
25313 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
25314 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a `front end' and a number of
25315 `back ends'. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
25316 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
25317 Gnus. The front end then `talks' to a back end and says things like
25318 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
25321 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
25322 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
25323 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
25324 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
25325 `spool directory' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
25326 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
25328 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
25329 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
25330 access the articles.
25332 However, sometimes the term `back end' is also used where `server'
25333 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term `select
25334 method' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
25339 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
25340 default, way of getting news.
25344 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
25345 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
25350 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
25351 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
25355 A message that has been posted as news.
25358 @cindex mail message
25359 A message that has been mailed.
25363 A mail message or news article
25367 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
25372 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
25377 A line from the head of an article.
25381 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
25382 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
25384 @item @acronym{NOV}
25386 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
25387 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
25388 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
25389 normal @sc{head} format.
25393 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
25394 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
25395 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
25396 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
25397 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
25398 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
25400 @item killed groups
25401 @cindex killed groups
25402 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
25403 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
25405 @item zombie groups
25406 @cindex zombie groups
25407 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
25410 @cindex active file
25411 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
25412 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
25413 is rather large, as you might surmise.
25416 @cindex bogus groups
25417 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
25418 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
25419 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
25422 @cindex activating groups
25423 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
25424 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
25425 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
25429 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
25431 @item select method
25432 @cindex select method
25433 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
25436 @item virtual server
25437 @cindex virtual server
25438 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
25439 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
25440 whole is a virtual server.
25444 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
25445 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
25448 @item ephemeral groups
25449 @cindex ephemeral groups
25450 @cindex temporary groups
25451 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
25452 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
25453 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
25456 @cindex solid groups
25457 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
25458 group buffer are solid groups.
25460 @item sparse articles
25461 @cindex sparse articles
25462 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
25463 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
25467 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
25468 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
25472 @cindex thread root
25473 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
25474 articles in the thread.
25478 An article that has responses.
25482 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
25486 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
25487 specified by RFC 1153.
25493 @node Customization
25494 @section Customization
25495 @cindex general customization
25497 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
25498 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
25499 for some quite common situations.
25502 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
25503 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
25504 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
25505 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
25509 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
25510 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
25512 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
25513 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
25514 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
25518 @item gnus-read-active-file
25519 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
25520 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
25521 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
25522 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
25523 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
25525 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
25526 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
25527 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
25528 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
25532 @node Slow Terminal Connection
25533 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
25535 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
25536 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
25537 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
25541 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
25542 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
25543 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
25544 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
25545 horizontal and vertical recentering.
25547 @item gnus-visible-headers
25548 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
25549 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
25550 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
25551 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
25553 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
25555 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
25556 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
25557 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
25560 @item gnus-use-full-window
25561 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
25562 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
25563 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
25564 want to read them anyway.
25566 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
25567 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
25571 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
25572 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
25573 lines, which might save some time.
25577 @node Little Disk Space
25578 @subsection Little Disk Space
25581 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
25582 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
25586 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
25587 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
25588 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
25589 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
25592 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
25593 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
25594 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
25595 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
25598 @item gnus-save-killed-list
25599 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
25600 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
25601 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
25602 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
25608 @subsection Slow Machine
25609 @cindex slow machine
25611 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
25612 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
25614 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
25615 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
25617 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
25618 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
25619 summary buffer faster.
25623 @node Troubleshooting
25624 @section Troubleshooting
25625 @cindex troubleshooting
25627 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
25635 Make sure your computer is switched on.
25638 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
25639 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
25643 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
25644 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
25645 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
25646 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
25649 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
25650 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
25653 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
25654 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
25655 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
25656 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
25657 something like that.
25660 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
25663 @cindex reporting bugs
25665 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25667 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
25668 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
25669 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
25670 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
25672 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
25673 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
25674 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
25675 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
25678 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
25679 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
25680 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
25681 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
25682 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
25683 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
25685 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
25686 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
25687 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
25691 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
25692 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
25695 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
25696 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
25697 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
25698 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
25699 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
25700 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
25701 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
25702 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
25703 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
25704 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
25705 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
25706 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
25707 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
25708 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
25713 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate a elisp error but
25714 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
25715 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
25716 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
25717 helps isolating the real problem areas).
25719 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
25720 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
25721 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
25722 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
25723 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
25724 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
25725 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
25726 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
25727 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
25728 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
25729 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
25730 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
25731 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
25734 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
25735 @cindex ding mailing list
25736 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
25737 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
25738 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
25739 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
25743 @node Gnus Reference Guide
25744 @section Gnus Reference Guide
25746 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
25747 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
25748 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
25749 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
25752 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
25753 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
25754 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
25755 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
25756 and general methods of operation.
25759 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
25760 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
25761 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
25762 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
25763 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
25764 * Group Info:: The group info format.
25765 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
25766 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
25767 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
25771 @node Gnus Utility Functions
25772 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
25773 @cindex Gnus utility functions
25774 @cindex utility functions
25776 @cindex internal variables
25778 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
25779 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
25780 Below is a list of the most common ones.
25784 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
25785 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
25786 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
25788 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
25789 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
25790 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
25792 @item gnus-group-real-name
25793 @findex gnus-group-real-name
25794 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
25797 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
25798 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
25799 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
25800 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
25802 @item gnus-get-info
25803 @findex gnus-get-info
25804 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
25806 @item gnus-group-unread
25807 @findex gnus-group-unread
25808 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
25812 @findex gnus-active
25813 The active entry for @var{group}.
25815 @item gnus-set-active
25816 @findex gnus-set-active
25817 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
25819 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25820 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
25821 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
25824 @item gnus-continuum-version
25825 @findex gnus-continuum-version
25826 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
25827 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
25830 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
25831 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
25832 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
25834 @item gnus-news-group-p
25835 @findex gnus-news-group-p
25836 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
25838 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25839 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
25840 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
25842 @item gnus-server-to-method
25843 @findex gnus-server-to-method
25844 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
25846 @item gnus-server-equal
25847 @findex gnus-server-equal
25848 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
25850 @item gnus-group-native-p
25851 @findex gnus-group-native-p
25852 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
25854 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
25855 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
25856 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
25858 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
25859 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
25860 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
25862 @item group-group-find-parameter
25863 @findex group-group-find-parameter
25864 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
25865 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
25867 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
25868 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
25869 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
25871 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
25872 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
25873 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
25875 @item gnus-check-backend-function
25876 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
25877 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
25878 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
25881 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
25885 @item gnus-read-method
25886 @findex gnus-read-method
25887 Prompts the user for a select method.
25892 @node Back End Interface
25893 @subsection Back End Interface
25895 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
25896 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
25897 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
25898 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
25899 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
25900 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
25902 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
25903 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
25904 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
25905 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
25906 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
25907 been opened, the function should fail.
25909 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
25910 name. Take this example:
25914 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
25915 (nntp-port-number 4324))
25918 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
25919 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
25921 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
25922 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
25923 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
25925 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
25926 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
25927 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
25929 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
25930 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
25931 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
25932 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
25933 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
25934 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
25937 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
25938 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
25939 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
25940 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
25943 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
25944 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
25945 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
25946 possible for later articles to `re-use' older article numbers without
25947 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
25948 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
25949 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
25950 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
25951 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
25952 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
25954 The previous paragraph already mentions all the `hard' restrictions that
25955 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
25956 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
25957 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
25958 the `no-reuse' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
25959 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
25960 of numbers as long as possible.
25962 Note that by convention, backends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
25963 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
25964 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
25966 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
25969 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
25972 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
25973 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
25974 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
25975 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
25976 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
25977 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
25981 @node Required Back End Functions
25982 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
25986 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
25988 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
25989 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
25990 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
25991 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
25993 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
25994 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
25995 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
25996 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
25998 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
25999 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
26000 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
26001 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
26002 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
26003 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
26004 number, do maximum fetches.
26006 Here's an example HEAD:
26009 221 1056 Article retrieved.
26010 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
26011 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
26012 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
26013 Subject: Re: Something very droll
26014 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
26015 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
26017 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
26018 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
26019 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
26023 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
26024 these in the data buffer.
26026 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
26030 head = error / valid-head
26031 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
26032 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
26033 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
26034 header = <text> eol
26038 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
26040 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
26041 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
26045 nov-buffer = *nov-line
26046 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
26047 field = <text except TAB>
26050 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
26054 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
26056 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
26057 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
26059 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
26060 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
26061 server. In fact, it should do so.
26063 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
26064 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
26067 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
26069 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
26070 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
26073 There should be no data returned.
26076 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
26078 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
26079 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
26080 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
26081 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
26083 There should be no data returned.
26086 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
26088 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
26089 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
26090 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
26091 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
26093 There should be no data returned.
26096 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
26098 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
26100 There should be no data returned.
26103 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
26105 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
26106 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
26107 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
26108 it would be nice if that were possible.
26110 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
26111 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
26112 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
26113 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
26114 into its article buffer.
26116 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
26117 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
26118 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
26119 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
26120 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
26121 on successful article retrieval.
26124 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
26126 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
26127 making @var{group} the current group.
26129 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
26132 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
26135 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
26138 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
26139 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
26140 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
26141 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
26142 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
26143 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
26144 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
26145 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
26146 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
26150 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
26151 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
26152 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
26156 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
26158 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
26159 a no-op on most back ends.
26161 There should be no data returned.
26164 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
26166 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
26169 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
26172 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
26173 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
26176 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
26177 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
26178 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
26179 and the highest as 0.
26182 active-file = *active-line
26183 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
26185 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
26188 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
26189 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
26190 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
26193 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
26195 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
26196 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
26197 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
26198 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
26199 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
26200 clear if the posting could not be completed.
26202 There should be no result data from this function.
26207 @node Optional Back End Functions
26208 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
26212 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
26214 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
26215 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
26216 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
26218 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
26219 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
26220 former is in the same format as the data from
26221 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
26222 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
26225 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
26229 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
26231 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
26232 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
26233 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
26234 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
26235 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
26237 There should be no result data from this function.
26240 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
26242 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
26243 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
26244 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
26245 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
26246 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
26247 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
26248 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
26249 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
26251 There should be no result data from this function.
26254 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
26256 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
26257 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
26258 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
26259 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
26260 propagate the mark information to the server.
26262 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
26265 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
26268 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
26269 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
26270 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
26271 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
26272 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
26273 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
26274 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
26275 possible, not limit itself to these.
26277 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
26278 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
26279 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
26280 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
26282 An example action list:
26285 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
26286 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
26287 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
26290 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
26291 mark on (currently not used for anything).
26293 There should be no result data from this function.
26295 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
26297 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
26298 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
26299 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
26300 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
26301 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
26303 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
26304 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
26305 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
26308 There should be no result data from this function.
26311 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
26313 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
26314 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
26315 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
26316 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
26317 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
26318 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
26319 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
26320 local if that's practical.
26322 There should be no result data from this function.
26325 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
26327 The result data from this function should be a description of
26331 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
26333 description = <text>
26336 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
26338 The result data from this function should be the description of all
26339 groups available on the server.
26342 description-buffer = *description-line
26346 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
26348 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
26349 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
26350 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
26351 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
26352 in the active buffer format.
26354 It is okay for this function to return `too many' groups; some back ends
26355 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
26356 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
26357 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
26358 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
26359 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
26360 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
26363 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
26365 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
26367 There should be no return data.
26370 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
26372 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
26373 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
26374 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
26375 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
26376 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
26379 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
26382 There should be no result data returned.
26385 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
26387 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
26388 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
26390 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
26391 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
26392 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
26393 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
26394 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
26395 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
26397 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
26398 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
26401 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
26402 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
26404 There should be no data returned.
26407 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
26409 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
26410 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
26411 this function in short order.
26413 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
26414 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
26416 The group should exist before the backend is asked to accept the
26417 article for that group.
26419 There should be no data returned.
26422 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
26424 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
26425 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
26427 There should be no data returned.
26430 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
26432 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
26433 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
26434 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
26436 There should be no data returned.
26439 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
26441 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
26442 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
26444 There should be no data returned.
26449 @node Error Messaging
26450 @subsubsection Error Messaging
26452 @findex nnheader-report
26453 @findex nnheader-get-report
26454 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
26455 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
26456 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
26457 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
26458 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
26459 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
26462 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
26464 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
26467 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
26468 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
26469 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
26470 takes one argument---the server symbol.
26472 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
26473 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
26474 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
26477 @node Writing New Back Ends
26478 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
26480 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
26481 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
26482 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
26483 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
26484 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
26487 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
26488 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
26489 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
26491 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
26492 package called @code{nnoo}.
26494 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
26495 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
26501 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
26502 parameters. For instance:
26505 (nnoo-declare nndir
26509 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
26510 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
26513 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
26514 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
26515 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
26517 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
26518 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
26519 a function in those back ends.
26522 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
26523 "Where nndir will look for groups."
26524 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
26527 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
26528 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
26529 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
26531 @item nnoo-define-basics
26532 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
26536 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
26540 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
26541 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
26542 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
26544 @item nnoo-map-functions
26545 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
26546 functions from the parent back ends.
26549 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
26550 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
26551 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
26554 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
26555 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
26556 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
26557 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
26560 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
26561 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
26562 haven't already been defined.
26568 nnmh-request-newgroups)
26572 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
26573 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
26574 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
26579 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
26582 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
26583 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
26587 (require 'nnheader)
26591 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
26593 (nnoo-declare nndir
26596 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
26597 "Where nndir will look for groups."
26598 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
26600 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
26601 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
26604 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
26606 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
26607 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
26608 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
26610 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
26611 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
26613 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
26615 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
26617 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
26618 (setq nndir-directory
26619 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
26621 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
26622 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
26623 (push `(nndir-current-group
26624 ,(file-name-nondirectory
26625 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
26627 (push `(nndir-top-directory
26628 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
26630 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
26632 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
26633 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
26634 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
26635 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
26636 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
26640 nnmh-status-message
26642 nnmh-request-newgroups))
26648 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
26649 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
26651 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
26652 @findex gnus-declare-backend
26653 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
26654 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
26655 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
26657 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
26658 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
26663 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
26666 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
26668 The abilities can be:
26672 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
26674 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
26676 This back end supports both mail and news.
26678 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
26681 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
26682 articles and groups.
26684 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
26685 true for almost all back ends.
26686 @item prompt-address
26687 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
26688 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
26689 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
26693 @node Mail-like Back Ends
26694 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
26696 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
26697 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
26698 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
26699 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
26702 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
26703 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
26704 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
26707 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
26708 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
26711 This function takes four parameters.
26715 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
26718 @item exit-function
26719 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
26721 @item temp-directory
26722 Where the temporary files should be stored.
26725 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
26726 performed for one group only.
26729 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
26730 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
26731 find the article number assigned to this article.
26733 The function also uses the following variables:
26734 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
26735 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
26736 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
26737 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
26741 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
26742 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
26746 @node Score File Syntax
26747 @subsection Score File Syntax
26749 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
26750 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
26751 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
26753 Here's a typical score file:
26757 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
26764 BNF definition of a score file:
26767 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
26768 element = rule / atom
26769 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
26770 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
26771 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
26772 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
26774 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
26775 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
26776 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
26777 date-header = "date"
26778 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26779 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26780 score = "nil" / <integer>
26781 date = "nil" / <natural number>
26782 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
26783 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
26784 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
26785 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
26786 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26787 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26788 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
26789 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
26790 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
26791 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
26792 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
26793 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
26794 exclude-files / read-only / touched
26795 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
26796 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
26797 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
26798 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
26799 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
26800 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
26801 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
26802 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
26803 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
26804 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
26805 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
26806 eval = "eval" space <form>
26807 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
26810 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
26813 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
26814 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
26815 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
26816 one looong line, then that's ok.
26818 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
26819 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26823 @subsection Headers
26825 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
26826 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
26827 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
26828 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
26830 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
26831 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
26832 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
26833 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
26834 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
26835 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
26836 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
26838 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
26839 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
26840 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
26841 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
26842 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
26844 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
26845 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
26851 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
26852 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
26854 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
26855 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
26856 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
26857 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
26859 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
26863 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
26866 is transformed into
26869 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
26872 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
26873 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
26876 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
26879 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
26880 is slightly tricky:
26883 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
26889 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
26892 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
26898 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
26905 and is equal to the previous range.
26907 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
26908 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
26909 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
26913 range = simple-range / normal-range
26914 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
26915 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
26916 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
26917 number *[ " " contents ]
26920 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
26921 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
26922 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
26923 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
26924 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
26929 @subsection Group Info
26931 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
26932 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
26933 describes the group.
26935 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
26936 second is a more complex one:
26939 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
26941 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
26942 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
26944 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
26947 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
26948 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
26949 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
26950 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
26951 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
26952 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
26953 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
26954 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
26955 this section is about.
26957 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
26958 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
26959 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
26961 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
26964 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
26965 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
26966 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
26967 group = quote <string> quote
26968 ralevel = rank / level
26969 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26970 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
26971 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
26973 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
26974 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
26975 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
26976 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
26979 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
26980 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
26983 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
26984 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
26987 @item gnus-info-group
26988 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
26989 @findex gnus-info-group
26990 @findex gnus-info-set-group
26991 Get/set the group name.
26993 @item gnus-info-rank
26994 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
26995 @findex gnus-info-rank
26996 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
26997 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
26999 @item gnus-info-level
27000 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
27001 @findex gnus-info-level
27002 @findex gnus-info-set-level
27003 Get/set the group level.
27005 @item gnus-info-score
27006 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
27007 @findex gnus-info-score
27008 @findex gnus-info-set-score
27009 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
27011 @item gnus-info-read
27012 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
27013 @findex gnus-info-read
27014 @findex gnus-info-set-read
27015 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
27017 @item gnus-info-marks
27018 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
27019 @findex gnus-info-marks
27020 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
27021 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
27023 @item gnus-info-method
27024 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
27025 @findex gnus-info-method
27026 @findex gnus-info-set-method
27027 Get/set the group select method.
27029 @item gnus-info-params
27030 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
27031 @findex gnus-info-params
27032 @findex gnus-info-set-params
27033 Get/set the group parameters.
27036 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
27037 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
27039 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
27040 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
27041 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
27042 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
27045 @node Extended Interactive
27046 @subsection Extended Interactive
27047 @cindex interactive
27048 @findex gnus-interactive
27050 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
27051 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
27052 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
27055 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
27056 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
27061 The best thing to do would have been to implement
27062 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
27063 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
27064 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
27065 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
27066 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
27067 @code{interactive}.
27069 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
27074 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
27075 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
27079 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
27080 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
27081 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
27084 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
27088 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
27092 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
27098 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
27099 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
27103 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
27104 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
27105 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
27107 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
27108 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
27109 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
27110 Gnus, that's very useful.
27112 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
27113 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
27114 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
27115 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
27116 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
27117 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
27118 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
27119 following function:
27122 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
27126 (,function ,@@args))
27130 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
27131 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
27132 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
27135 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
27136 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
27137 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
27139 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
27140 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
27141 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
27144 @node Various File Formats
27145 @subsection Various File Formats
27148 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
27149 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
27153 @node Active File Format
27154 @subsubsection Active File Format
27156 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
27157 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
27160 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
27163 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
27164 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
27165 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
27166 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
27167 no.general 1000 900 y
27170 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
27173 active = *group-line
27174 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
27175 group = <non-white-space string>
27177 high-number = <non-negative integer>
27178 low-number = <positive integer>
27179 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
27182 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
27183 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
27186 @node Newsgroups File Format
27187 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
27189 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
27190 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
27191 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
27194 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
27195 Here's the definition:
27199 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
27200 group = <non-white-space string>
27202 description = <string>
27207 @node Emacs for Heathens
27208 @section Emacs for Heathens
27210 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
27211 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
27212 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
27213 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
27214 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
27215 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
27216 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
27220 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
27221 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
27226 @subsection Keystrokes
27230 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
27233 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
27236 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
27237 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
27238 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
27239 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
27240 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
27241 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
27243 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
27244 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
27245 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
27246 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
27247 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
27248 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
27249 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
27251 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
27252 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
27253 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
27254 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
27255 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
27256 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
27257 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
27259 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
27260 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
27261 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
27262 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
27263 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
27269 @subsection Emacs Lisp
27271 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
27272 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
27273 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
27274 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
27276 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
27277 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
27278 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
27279 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
27280 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
27281 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
27282 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
27285 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
27286 write the following:
27289 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
27292 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
27293 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
27294 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
27297 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
27298 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
27299 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
27300 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
27301 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
27303 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
27304 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
27305 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
27309 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
27313 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
27316 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
27317 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
27320 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
27323 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
27324 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
27327 @include gnus-faq.texi
27347 @c Local Variables:
27349 @c coding: iso-8859-1