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335 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
340 @setchapternewpage odd
347 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
349 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
355 @top The Gnus Newsreader
359 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
360 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
361 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
364 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
365 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.7.
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
397 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
398 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
399 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
400 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
401 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
402 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
403 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
404 * Various:: General purpose settings.
405 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
406 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
407 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
408 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
409 * Key Index:: Key Index.
411 Other related manuals
413 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
414 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
415 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
416 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
417 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
420 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
424 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
425 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
426 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
427 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
428 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
429 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
430 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
431 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
432 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
433 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
434 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
438 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
439 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
440 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
444 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
445 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
446 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
447 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
448 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
449 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
450 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
451 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
452 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
453 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
454 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
455 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
456 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
457 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
458 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
459 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
460 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
464 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
465 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
466 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
470 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
471 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
472 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
473 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
474 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
478 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
479 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
480 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
481 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
482 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
486 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
487 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
488 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
489 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
490 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
491 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
492 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
493 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
494 * Threading:: How threads are made.
495 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
496 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
497 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
498 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
499 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
500 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
501 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
502 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
503 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
504 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
505 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
506 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
507 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
508 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
509 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
510 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
511 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
512 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
513 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
514 or reselecting the current group.
515 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
516 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
517 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
518 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
520 Summary Buffer Format
522 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
523 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
524 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
525 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
529 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
530 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
532 Reply, Followup and Post
534 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
535 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
536 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
537 * Canceling and Superseding::
541 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
542 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
543 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
544 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
545 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
546 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
550 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
551 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
553 Customizing Threading
555 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
556 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
557 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
558 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
562 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
563 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
564 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
565 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
566 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
567 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
571 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
572 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
573 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
577 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
578 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
579 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
580 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
581 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
582 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
583 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
584 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
585 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
586 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
587 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
589 Alternative Approaches
591 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
592 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
594 Various Summary Stuff
596 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
597 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
598 * Summary Generation Commands::
599 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
603 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
604 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
605 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
606 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
607 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
611 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
612 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
613 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
614 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
615 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
616 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
617 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
618 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
619 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
623 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
624 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
625 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
626 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
627 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
628 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
629 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
630 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
631 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
635 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
636 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
637 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
638 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
639 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
640 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
641 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
645 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
646 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
650 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
651 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
652 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
653 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
657 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
658 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
659 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
660 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
661 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
662 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
663 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
664 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
665 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
666 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
667 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
668 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
669 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
673 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
674 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
675 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
677 Choosing a Mail Back End
679 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
680 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
681 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
682 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
683 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
684 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
685 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
690 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
691 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
692 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
693 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
694 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
695 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
699 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
700 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
701 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
702 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
703 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
704 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
708 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
709 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
710 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
711 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
712 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
716 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
720 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
721 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
722 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
726 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
727 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
731 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
732 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
733 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
737 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
738 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
739 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
741 The Gnus Diary Library
743 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
744 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
745 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
746 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
750 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
751 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
752 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
753 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
754 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
755 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
756 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
757 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
758 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
759 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
760 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
761 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
762 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
763 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
767 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
768 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
769 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
773 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
774 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
775 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
779 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
780 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
781 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
782 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
783 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
784 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
785 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
786 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
787 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
788 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
789 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
790 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
791 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
792 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
793 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
794 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
798 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
799 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
800 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
804 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
805 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
806 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
807 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
808 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
809 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
810 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
811 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
812 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
813 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
814 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
815 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
816 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
817 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
818 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
819 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
820 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
821 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
822 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
823 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
824 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
828 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
829 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
830 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
831 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
832 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
833 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
834 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
835 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
839 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
840 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
841 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
843 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
844 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
848 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
849 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
850 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
851 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
855 * Spam Package Introduction::
856 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
857 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
858 * Spam and Ham Processors::
859 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
861 * Extending the Spam package::
862 * Spam Statistics Package::
864 Spam Statistics Package
866 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
867 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
868 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
872 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
873 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
874 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
875 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
876 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
877 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
878 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
879 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
880 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
884 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
885 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
886 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
887 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
888 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
889 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
890 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
891 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
892 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
896 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
897 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
898 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
899 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
900 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
901 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
902 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
906 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
907 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
908 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
909 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
913 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
914 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
915 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
916 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
917 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
918 * Group Info:: The group info format.
919 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
920 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
921 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
925 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
926 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
927 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
928 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
929 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
930 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
934 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
935 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
939 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
940 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
946 @chapter Starting Gnus
949 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
954 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
955 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
956 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
957 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
958 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
959 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
961 @findex gnus-other-frame
962 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
963 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
964 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
966 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
967 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
968 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
970 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
971 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
974 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
975 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
976 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
977 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
978 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
979 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
980 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
981 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
982 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
983 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
987 @node Finding the News
988 @section Finding the News
991 @vindex gnus-select-method
993 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
994 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
995 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
996 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
999 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1000 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1003 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1006 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1009 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1012 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1013 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1014 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1015 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1017 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1019 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1020 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1021 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1022 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1023 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1024 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1025 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1027 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1028 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1029 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1030 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1032 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1033 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1034 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1035 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1036 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1037 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1038 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1039 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1040 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1043 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1045 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1046 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1047 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1048 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1049 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1050 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1052 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1054 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1055 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1056 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1057 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1058 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1059 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1062 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1063 you would typically set this variable to
1066 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1069 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1070 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1071 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1072 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1075 @node The First Time
1076 @section The First Time
1077 @cindex first time usage
1079 If no startup files exist (@pxref{Startup Files}), Gnus will try to
1080 determine what groups should be subscribed by default.
1082 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1083 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1084 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1085 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1088 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1089 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1090 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1092 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1093 help you with most common problems.
1095 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1096 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1100 @node The Server is Down
1101 @section The Server is Down
1102 @cindex server errors
1104 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1105 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1106 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1108 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1109 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1110 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1111 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1112 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1113 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1114 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1116 @findex gnus-no-server
1117 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1119 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1120 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1121 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1122 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1123 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1124 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1125 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1129 @section Slave Gnusae
1132 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1133 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1134 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1135 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1137 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1138 @file{.newsrc} file.
1140 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1141 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1142 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1143 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1144 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1145 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1146 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1149 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1150 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1151 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1152 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1153 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1154 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1155 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1156 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1158 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1159 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1161 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1162 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1163 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1164 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1165 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1172 @cindex subscription
1174 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1175 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1176 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1177 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1178 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1179 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1180 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1181 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1182 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1185 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1186 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1187 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1191 @node Checking New Groups
1192 @subsection Checking New Groups
1194 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1195 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1196 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1197 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1198 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1199 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1200 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1201 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1202 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1203 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1205 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1206 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1207 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1208 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1209 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1210 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1211 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1212 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1213 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1214 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1215 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1217 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1218 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1219 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1220 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1221 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1222 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1225 @node Subscription Methods
1226 @subsection Subscription Methods
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1229 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1230 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1232 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1233 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1235 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1239 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1240 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1241 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1242 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1243 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1245 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1246 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1247 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1248 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1250 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1251 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1252 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1254 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1255 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1256 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1257 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1258 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1259 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1260 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1261 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1262 up. Or something like that.
1264 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1265 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1266 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1267 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1268 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1270 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1271 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1272 Kill all new groups.
1274 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1275 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1276 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1277 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1278 topic parameter that looks like
1284 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1287 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1292 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1293 A closely related variable is
1294 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1295 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1296 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1297 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1300 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1301 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1302 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1303 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1306 @node Filtering New Groups
1307 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1309 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1310 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1311 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1314 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1317 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1318 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1319 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1320 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1321 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1322 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1323 subscribing these groups.
1324 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1325 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1327 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1328 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1329 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1330 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1331 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1332 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1333 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1334 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1336 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1337 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1338 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1339 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1340 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1341 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1342 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1343 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1344 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1345 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1348 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1349 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1352 @node Changing Servers
1353 @section Changing Servers
1354 @cindex changing servers
1356 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1357 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1358 very flaky and you want to use another.
1360 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1361 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1365 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1366 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1367 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1368 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1371 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1372 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1373 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1374 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1376 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1377 @findex gnus-change-server
1378 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1379 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1380 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1381 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1382 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1384 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1385 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1386 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1387 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1388 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1390 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1391 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1392 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1393 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1394 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1395 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1397 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1398 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1399 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1400 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1402 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1403 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1404 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1405 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1406 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1407 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1408 cache for all groups).
1412 @section Startup Files
1413 @cindex startup files
1418 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1419 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1420 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1423 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1424 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1425 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1426 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1427 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1428 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1429 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1431 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1432 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1433 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1434 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1435 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1436 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1438 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1439 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1440 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1441 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1442 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1443 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1444 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1445 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1446 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1447 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1448 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1451 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1452 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1453 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1454 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1455 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1456 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1457 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1458 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1459 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1460 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1461 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1462 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1464 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1465 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1466 @vindex version-control
1467 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1468 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1469 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1470 If you want version control for this file, set
1471 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1472 @code{version-control} variable.
1474 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1475 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1476 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1477 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1478 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1479 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1480 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1481 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1482 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1483 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1486 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1487 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1489 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1490 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1493 @vindex gnus-init-file
1494 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1495 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1496 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1497 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1498 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1499 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1500 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1501 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1502 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1503 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1504 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1505 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1506 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1511 @cindex dribble file
1514 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1515 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1516 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1517 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1518 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1521 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1522 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1525 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1526 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1527 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1529 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1530 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1531 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1532 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1533 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1534 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1536 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1537 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1538 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1541 @node The Active File
1542 @section The Active File
1544 @cindex ignored groups
1546 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1547 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1548 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1550 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1551 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1552 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1553 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1554 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1555 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1556 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1559 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1560 @c if you set it to anything else.
1562 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1564 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1565 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1566 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1568 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1569 you actually subscribe to.
1571 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1572 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1573 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1574 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1576 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1577 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1578 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1579 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1580 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1581 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1583 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1584 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1585 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1588 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1589 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1590 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1591 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1592 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1593 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1595 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1596 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1598 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1599 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1601 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1602 secondary select methods.
1605 @node Startup Variables
1606 @section Startup Variables
1610 @item gnus-load-hook
1611 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1612 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1613 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1614 times you start Gnus.
1616 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1617 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1618 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1620 @item gnus-startup-hook
1621 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1622 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1624 @item gnus-started-hook
1625 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1626 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1629 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1630 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1631 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1632 generating the group buffer.
1634 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1635 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1636 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1637 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1638 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1639 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1640 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1641 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1643 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1644 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1645 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1646 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1647 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1648 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1650 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1651 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1652 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1654 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1655 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1656 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1658 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1659 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1660 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1661 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1667 @chapter Group Buffer
1668 @cindex group buffer
1670 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1672 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1673 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1674 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1675 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1676 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1677 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1678 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1679 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1680 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1681 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1682 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1683 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1684 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1685 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1686 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1687 @c human rights at 9...
1690 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1691 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1692 long as Gnus is active.
1696 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1697 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1698 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1699 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1700 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1701 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1702 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1703 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1709 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1710 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1711 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1712 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1713 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1714 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1715 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1716 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1717 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1718 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1719 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1720 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1721 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1722 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1723 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1724 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1725 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1729 @node Group Buffer Format
1730 @section Group Buffer Format
1733 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1734 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1735 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1738 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1739 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1742 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1743 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1744 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1745 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1748 @node Group Line Specification
1749 @subsection Group Line Specification
1750 @cindex group buffer format
1752 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1753 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1755 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1758 25: news.announce.newusers
1759 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1764 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1765 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1766 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1767 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1769 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1770 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1771 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1772 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1773 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1774 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1776 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1778 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1779 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1780 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1781 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1782 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1784 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1785 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1786 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1788 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1793 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1796 Whether the group is subscribed.
1799 Level of subscribedness.
1802 Number of unread articles.
1805 Number of dormant articles.
1808 Number of ticked articles.
1811 Number of read articles.
1814 Number of unseen articles.
1817 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1818 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1820 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1821 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1822 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1823 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1824 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1825 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1826 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1828 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1829 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1830 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1831 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1832 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1833 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1834 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1837 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1840 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1849 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1850 comment element in the group parameters.
1853 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1854 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1855 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1859 @samp{m} if moderated.
1862 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1868 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1874 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1878 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1881 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1882 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1883 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1884 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1885 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1888 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1890 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1894 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1897 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1901 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1902 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1903 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1904 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1907 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1908 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1909 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1910 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1911 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1912 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1917 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1918 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1919 group, or a bogus native group.
1922 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1923 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1924 @cindex group mode line
1926 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1927 The mode line can be changed by setting
1928 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1929 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1933 The native news server.
1935 The native select method.
1939 @node Group Highlighting
1940 @subsection Group Highlighting
1941 @cindex highlighting
1942 @cindex group highlighting
1944 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1945 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1946 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1947 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1948 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1950 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1954 (cond (window-system
1955 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1956 (defface my-group-face-1
1957 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1958 (defface my-group-face-2
1959 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1960 "Second group face")
1961 (defface my-group-face-3
1962 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1963 (defface my-group-face-4
1964 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1965 (defface my-group-face-5
1966 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1968 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1969 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1970 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1971 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1972 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1973 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1976 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1978 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1985 The number of unread articles in the group.
1989 Whether the group is a mail group.
1991 The level of the group.
1993 The score of the group.
1995 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1997 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1998 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
2000 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2001 topic being inserted.
2004 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2005 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
2006 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2008 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2009 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2010 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2011 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2012 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2015 @node Group Maneuvering
2016 @section Group Maneuvering
2017 @cindex group movement
2019 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2020 expected, hopefully.
2026 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2027 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2028 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2034 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2035 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2036 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2040 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2041 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2046 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2050 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2051 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2052 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2056 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2057 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2058 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2061 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2067 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2068 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2069 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2074 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2075 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2076 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2080 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2081 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2082 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2085 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2086 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2087 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2088 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2091 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2092 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2093 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2094 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2097 @node Selecting a Group
2098 @section Selecting a Group
2099 @cindex group selection
2104 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2105 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2106 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2107 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2108 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2109 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2110 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2111 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2112 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2113 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2115 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2116 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2117 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2119 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2120 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2125 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2126 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2127 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2128 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2129 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2133 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2134 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2135 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2136 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2137 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2138 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2139 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2140 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2141 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2142 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2145 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2146 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2147 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2148 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2149 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2152 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2153 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2154 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2155 doing any processing of its contents
2156 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2157 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2158 manner will have no permanent effects.
2162 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2163 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2164 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2165 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2166 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2167 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2168 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2169 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2170 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2171 most recently will be fetched.
2173 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2174 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2175 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2178 @vindex gnus-maximum-newsgroup
2179 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2180 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2181 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2182 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2183 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2184 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2185 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2186 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2187 variable @code{gnus-maximum-newsgroup} to a positive number. The value
2188 means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the latest
2189 ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus get only
2190 the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is 30000000
2191 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might prevent
2192 you from reading very old articles. The default value of the variable
2193 @code{gnus-maximum-newsgroup} is @code{nil}, which means Gnus never
2194 ignores old articles.
2196 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2197 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2198 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2199 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2200 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2201 Which article this is is controlled by the
2202 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2208 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2211 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2214 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2216 @item unseen-or-unread
2217 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2218 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2222 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2226 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2227 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2229 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2230 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2231 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2232 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2236 @node Subscription Commands
2237 @section Subscription Commands
2238 @cindex subscription
2246 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2247 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2248 Toggle subscription to the current group
2249 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2255 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2256 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2257 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2258 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2264 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2265 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2266 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2272 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2273 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2276 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2277 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2278 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2279 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2280 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2286 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2287 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2291 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2292 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2295 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2296 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2297 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2298 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2299 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2300 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2301 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2302 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2303 @file{.newsrc} file.
2307 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2317 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2318 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2319 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2320 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2321 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2322 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2327 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2328 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2329 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2333 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2334 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2335 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2337 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2338 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2339 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2340 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2341 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2342 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2349 @section Group Levels
2353 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2354 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2355 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2356 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2357 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2359 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2365 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2366 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2367 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2368 prompted for a level.
2371 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2372 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2373 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2374 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2375 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2376 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2377 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2378 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2379 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2380 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2381 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2382 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2383 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2384 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2385 reasons of efficiency.
2387 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2388 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2390 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2391 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2392 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2393 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2394 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2395 groups are hidden, in a way.
2397 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2398 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2399 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2400 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2401 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2402 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2404 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2405 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2406 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2407 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2408 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2409 list of killed groups.)
2411 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2412 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2413 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2415 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2416 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2417 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2418 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2419 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2420 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2421 relevant valid ranges.
2423 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2424 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2425 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2426 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2427 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2428 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2431 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2432 one with the best level.
2434 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2435 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2436 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2439 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2440 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2441 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2442 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2445 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2446 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2447 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2448 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2450 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2451 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2452 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2453 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2454 to 5. The default is 6.
2458 @section Group Score
2463 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2464 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2465 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2468 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2469 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2470 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2471 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2472 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2473 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2474 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2475 least significant part.))
2477 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2478 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2479 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2480 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2481 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2482 action after each summary exit, you can add
2483 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2484 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2485 slow things down somewhat.
2488 @node Marking Groups
2489 @section Marking Groups
2490 @cindex marking groups
2492 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2493 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2494 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2495 bidding on those groups.
2497 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2498 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2499 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2507 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2508 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2514 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2515 Remove the mark from the current group
2516 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2520 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2521 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2525 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2526 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2530 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2531 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2535 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2536 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2537 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2540 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2542 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2543 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2544 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2545 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2546 the command to be executed.
2549 @node Foreign Groups
2550 @section Foreign Groups
2551 @cindex foreign groups
2553 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2554 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2555 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2556 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2559 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2560 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2561 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2567 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2568 @cindex making groups
2569 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2570 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2571 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2575 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2576 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2577 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2581 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2582 @cindex renaming groups
2583 Rename the current group to something else
2584 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2585 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2591 @findex gnus-group-customize
2592 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2596 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2597 @cindex renaming groups
2598 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2599 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2603 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2604 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2605 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2609 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2610 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2611 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2615 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2617 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2618 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2623 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2624 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2628 @cindex (ding) archive
2629 @cindex archive group
2630 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2631 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2632 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2633 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2634 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2635 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2636 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2640 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2642 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2643 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2644 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2645 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2649 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2651 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2652 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2653 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2657 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2658 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2660 Make a group based on some file or other
2661 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2662 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2663 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2664 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2665 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2666 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2667 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2668 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2669 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2673 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2674 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2675 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2676 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2680 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2684 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2685 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2686 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2687 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2688 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2689 @xref{Web Searches}.
2691 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2692 to a particular group by using a match string like
2693 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2697 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2698 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2699 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2703 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2704 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2705 This function will delete the current group
2706 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2707 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2708 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2709 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2710 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2714 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2715 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2716 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2720 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2721 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2722 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2725 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2728 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2729 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2730 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2731 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2732 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2733 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2737 @node Group Parameters
2738 @section Group Parameters
2739 @cindex group parameters
2741 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2742 Here's an example group parameter list:
2745 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2749 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2750 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2751 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2752 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2754 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2755 is an alist of regexps and values.
2757 The following group parameters can be used:
2762 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2765 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2768 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2769 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2770 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2771 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2772 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2774 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2775 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2776 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2777 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2778 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2779 list address instead.
2781 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2785 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2788 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2791 It is totally ignored
2792 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2793 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2795 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2796 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2797 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2798 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2799 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2801 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2802 @cindex mail list groups
2803 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2804 entering summary buffer.
2806 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2811 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2812 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2813 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2814 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2815 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2816 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2817 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2818 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2821 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2822 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2825 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2826 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2830 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2831 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2832 of whether it has any unread articles.
2834 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2835 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2837 @item broken-reply-to
2838 @cindex broken-reply-to
2839 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2840 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2841 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2842 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2843 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2844 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2848 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2849 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2853 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2854 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2855 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2860 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2861 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2862 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2863 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2864 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2865 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2866 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2868 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2869 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2870 doesn't accept articles.
2874 @cindex expiring mail
2875 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2876 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2877 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2879 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2882 @cindex total-expire
2883 @cindex expiring mail
2884 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2885 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2886 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2887 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2890 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2894 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2895 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2896 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2897 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2898 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2899 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2900 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2903 @cindex expiry-target
2904 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2905 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2908 @cindex score file group parameter
2909 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2910 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2911 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2914 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2915 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2916 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2917 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2920 @cindex admin-address
2921 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2922 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2923 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2924 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2928 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2929 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2933 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2936 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2937 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2940 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2944 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2946 Here are some examples:
2950 Display only unread articles.
2953 Display everything except expirable articles.
2955 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2956 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2960 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2961 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2962 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2963 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2964 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2968 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2969 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2970 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2974 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2975 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2976 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2980 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2981 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2982 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2984 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2986 @item ignored-charsets
2987 @cindex ignored-charset
2988 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2989 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2990 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2992 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2995 @cindex posting-style
2996 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2997 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2998 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2999 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3000 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3002 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3003 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3004 like this in the group parameters:
3009 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3010 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3013 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3014 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3015 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3016 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3017 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3018 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3024 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3025 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3029 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3030 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3031 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3032 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3033 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3037 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3038 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3039 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3040 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3042 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3043 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3044 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3045 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3048 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3049 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3053 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3054 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3055 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3056 like the following is generated:
3059 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3060 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3064 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3065 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3067 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3068 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3070 @item (agent parameters)
3071 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3072 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3073 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3074 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3075 minimize the configuration effort.
3077 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3078 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3079 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3080 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3081 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3082 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3083 @code{eval}ed there.
3085 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3086 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3087 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3088 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3089 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3090 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3091 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3092 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3095 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3098 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3099 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3100 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3103 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3106 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3107 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3108 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3109 into the group parameters for the group.
3111 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3112 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3113 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3114 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3117 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3118 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3119 following is added to a group parameter
3122 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3123 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3126 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3131 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3132 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3133 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3134 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3135 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3137 @vindex gnus-parameters
3138 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3139 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3140 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3144 (setq gnus-parameters
3146 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3147 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3148 (gnus-summary-line-format
3149 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3153 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3157 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3161 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3164 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3165 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3167 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3168 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3169 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3170 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3171 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3172 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3173 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3174 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3175 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3176 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3177 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3178 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3180 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3181 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3182 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3183 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3184 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3185 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3186 weekly news RSS feed
3187 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3193 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3194 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3195 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3196 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3197 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3199 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3200 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3201 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3202 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3203 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3204 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3208 @node Listing Groups
3209 @section Listing Groups
3210 @cindex group listing
3212 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3220 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3221 List all groups that have unread articles
3222 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3223 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3224 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3225 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3232 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3233 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3234 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3235 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3236 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3237 unsubscribed groups).
3241 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3242 List all unread groups on a specific level
3243 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3244 with no unread articles.
3248 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3249 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3250 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3251 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3256 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3257 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3261 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3262 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3263 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3267 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3268 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3272 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3273 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3274 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3275 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3276 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3277 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3278 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3279 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3283 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3284 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3285 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3289 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3290 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3291 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3295 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3296 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3300 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3301 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3305 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3306 List groups limited within the current selection
3307 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3311 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3312 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3316 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3317 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3321 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3322 @cindex visible group parameter
3323 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3324 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3325 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3326 get the same effect.
3328 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3329 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3330 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3331 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3332 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3335 @node Sorting Groups
3336 @section Sorting Groups
3337 @cindex sorting groups
3339 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3340 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3341 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3342 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3343 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3344 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3349 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3350 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3351 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3353 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3354 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3355 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3357 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3358 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3359 Sort by group level.
3361 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3362 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3363 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3365 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3366 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3367 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3368 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3370 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3371 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3372 Sort by number of unread articles.
3374 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3375 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3376 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3378 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3379 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3380 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3385 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3386 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3390 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3391 some sorting criteria:
3395 @kindex G S a (Group)
3396 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3397 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3398 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3401 @kindex G S u (Group)
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3403 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3404 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3407 @kindex G S l (Group)
3408 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3409 Sort the group buffer by group level
3410 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3413 @kindex G S v (Group)
3414 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3415 Sort the group buffer by group score
3416 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3419 @kindex G S r (Group)
3420 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3421 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3422 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3425 @kindex G S m (Group)
3426 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3427 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3428 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3431 @kindex G S n (Group)
3432 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3433 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3434 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3438 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3439 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3441 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3442 commands will sort in reverse order.
3444 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3448 @kindex G P a (Group)
3449 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3450 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3451 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3454 @kindex G P u (Group)
3455 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3456 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3457 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3460 @kindex G P l (Group)
3461 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3462 Sort the groups by group level
3463 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3466 @kindex G P v (Group)
3467 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3468 Sort the groups by group score
3469 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3472 @kindex G P r (Group)
3473 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3474 Sort the groups by group rank
3475 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3478 @kindex G P m (Group)
3479 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3480 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3481 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3484 @kindex G P n (Group)
3485 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3486 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3487 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3490 @kindex G P s (Group)
3491 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3492 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3496 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3500 @node Group Maintenance
3501 @section Group Maintenance
3502 @cindex bogus groups
3507 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3508 Find bogus groups and delete them
3509 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3513 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3514 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3515 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3516 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3517 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3521 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3522 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3523 @cindex expiring mail
3524 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3525 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3526 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3527 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3530 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3531 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3532 @cindex expiring mail
3533 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3534 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3539 @node Browse Foreign Server
3540 @section Browse Foreign Server
3541 @cindex foreign servers
3542 @cindex browsing servers
3547 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3548 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3549 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3550 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3553 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3554 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3555 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3556 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3558 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3563 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3564 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3568 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3569 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3572 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3573 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3574 Enter the current group and display the first article
3575 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3578 @kindex RET (Browse)
3579 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3580 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3584 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3585 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3586 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3592 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3593 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3597 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3598 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3602 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3603 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3604 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3609 @section Exiting Gnus
3610 @cindex exiting Gnus
3612 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3617 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3618 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3619 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3620 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3624 @findex gnus-group-exit
3625 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3626 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3630 @findex gnus-group-quit
3631 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3632 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3635 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3636 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3637 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3638 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3639 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3640 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3646 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3647 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3648 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3654 @section Group Topics
3657 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3658 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3659 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3660 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3661 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3662 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3666 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3667 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3678 2: alt.religion.emacs
3681 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3683 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3684 13: comp.sources.unix
3687 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3689 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3690 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3691 is a toggling command.)
3693 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3694 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3695 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3696 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3699 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3700 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3701 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3704 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3708 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3709 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3710 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3711 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3712 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3716 @node Topic Commands
3717 @subsection Topic Commands
3718 @cindex topic commands
3720 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3721 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3722 definitions slightly.
3724 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3725 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3726 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3727 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3728 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3729 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3731 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3738 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3739 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3740 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3744 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3746 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3747 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3748 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3749 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3752 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3753 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3754 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3755 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3759 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3760 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3761 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3762 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3768 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3769 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3770 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3774 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3775 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3779 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3780 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3781 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3782 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3783 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3785 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3786 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3790 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3791 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3798 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3800 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3801 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3802 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3803 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3804 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3805 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3809 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3815 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3816 Move the current group to some other topic
3817 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3818 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3822 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3823 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3827 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3828 Copy the current group to some other topic
3829 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3830 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3834 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3835 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3836 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3840 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3841 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3842 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3846 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3847 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3848 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3849 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3850 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3851 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3852 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3855 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3856 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3860 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3861 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3862 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3866 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3867 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3868 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3872 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3873 Toggle hiding empty topics
3874 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3878 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3879 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3880 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3881 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3884 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3885 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3886 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3887 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3888 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3891 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3892 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3893 @cindex expiring mail
3894 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3895 expiry process (if any)
3896 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3900 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3901 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3904 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3905 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3906 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3910 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3911 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3912 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3915 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3916 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3917 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3920 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3921 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3922 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3926 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3927 @cindex group parameters
3928 @cindex topic parameters
3930 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3931 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3936 @node Topic Variables
3937 @subsection Topic Variables
3938 @cindex topic variables
3940 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3941 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3943 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3944 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3945 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3958 Number of groups in the topic.
3960 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3962 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3965 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3966 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3967 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3970 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3971 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3973 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3974 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3975 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3979 @subsection Topic Sorting
3980 @cindex topic sorting
3982 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3988 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3989 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3990 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3991 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3994 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3995 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3996 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3997 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4000 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4001 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4002 Sort the current topic by group level
4003 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4006 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4007 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4008 Sort the current topic by group score
4009 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4012 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4013 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4014 Sort the current topic by group rank
4015 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4018 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4019 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4020 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4021 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4024 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4025 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4026 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4027 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4030 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4031 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4032 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4033 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4034 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4038 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4039 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4043 @node Topic Topology
4044 @subsection Topic Topology
4045 @cindex topic topology
4048 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4055 2: alt.religion.emacs
4058 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4060 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4061 13: comp.sources.unix
4065 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4066 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4067 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4072 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4073 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4077 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4078 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4079 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4080 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4081 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4082 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4084 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4085 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4086 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4089 @node Topic Parameters
4090 @subsection Topic Parameters
4091 @cindex topic parameters
4093 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4094 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4095 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4096 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4097 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4099 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4104 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4105 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4106 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4109 @item subscribe-level
4110 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4111 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4112 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4116 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4117 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4118 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4119 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4126 2: alt.religion.emacs
4130 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4132 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4133 13: comp.sources.unix
4138 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4139 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4140 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4141 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4142 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4143 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4145 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4146 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4147 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4148 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4149 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4151 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4152 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4153 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4154 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4155 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4156 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4157 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4158 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4161 @node Misc Group Stuff
4162 @section Misc Group Stuff
4165 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4166 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4167 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4168 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4169 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4176 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4177 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4178 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4181 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4184 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4187 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4188 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4192 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4193 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4194 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4198 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4199 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4200 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4201 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4202 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4203 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4204 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4208 @findex gnus-group-mail
4209 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4210 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4211 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4212 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4216 @findex gnus-group-news
4217 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4218 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4219 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4221 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4222 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4223 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4224 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4225 for this to work though.
4229 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4231 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4232 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4233 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4238 Variables for the group buffer:
4242 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4243 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4244 is called after the group buffer has been
4247 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4248 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4249 is called after the group buffer is
4250 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4253 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4254 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4255 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4256 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4258 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4259 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4260 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4261 whether they are empty or not.
4263 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4264 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4265 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4266 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4270 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4271 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4274 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4275 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4276 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4277 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4278 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4279 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4280 default is @code{nil}.
4284 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4285 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4290 @node Scanning New Messages
4291 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4292 @cindex new messages
4293 @cindex scanning new news
4299 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4300 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4301 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4302 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4303 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4304 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4309 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4310 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4311 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4312 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4313 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4314 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4315 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4317 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4318 @cindex activating groups
4320 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4321 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4326 @findex gnus-group-restart
4327 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4328 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4329 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4333 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4334 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4336 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4337 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4341 @node Group Information
4342 @subsection Group Information
4343 @cindex group information
4344 @cindex information on groups
4351 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4352 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4355 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4356 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4357 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4358 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4359 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4360 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4361 used for fetching the file.
4363 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4364 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4368 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4369 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4371 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4372 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4375 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4376 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4377 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4381 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4382 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4383 @cindex control message
4384 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4385 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4386 group if given a prefix argument.
4388 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4389 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4390 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4391 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4393 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4394 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4395 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4399 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4401 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4402 @cindex describing groups
4403 @cindex group description
4404 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4405 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4406 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4410 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4411 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4412 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4419 @findex gnus-version
4420 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4424 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4425 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4428 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4431 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4432 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4436 @node Group Timestamp
4437 @subsection Group Timestamp
4439 @cindex group timestamps
4441 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4442 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4443 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4446 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4449 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4451 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4452 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4455 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4456 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4459 This will result in lines looking like:
4462 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4463 0: custom 19961002T012713
4466 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4467 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4471 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4472 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4475 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4476 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4480 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4481 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4482 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4483 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4485 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4491 @subsection File Commands
4492 @cindex file commands
4498 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4499 @vindex gnus-init-file
4500 @cindex reading init file
4501 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4502 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4506 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4507 @cindex saving .newsrc
4508 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4509 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4510 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4513 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4514 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4515 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4520 @node Sieve Commands
4521 @subsection Sieve Commands
4522 @cindex group sieve commands
4524 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4525 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4526 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4527 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4528 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4530 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4531 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4532 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4533 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4534 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4535 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4536 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4537 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4538 regenerate the Sieve script.
4540 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4541 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4542 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4543 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4544 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4545 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4546 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4547 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4548 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4549 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4552 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4553 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4558 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4564 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4565 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4566 @cindex generating sieve script
4567 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4568 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4572 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4573 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4574 @cindex updating sieve script
4575 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4576 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4577 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4582 @node Summary Buffer
4583 @chapter Summary Buffer
4584 @cindex summary buffer
4586 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4587 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4589 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4590 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4592 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4594 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4595 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4599 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4600 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4601 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4603 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4607 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4608 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4609 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4610 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4611 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4612 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4613 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4614 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4615 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4616 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4617 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4618 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4619 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4620 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
4621 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4622 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4623 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4624 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4625 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4626 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4627 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4628 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4629 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4630 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4631 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4632 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4633 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4634 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4635 or reselecting the current group.
4636 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4637 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4638 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4639 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4643 @node Summary Buffer Format
4644 @section Summary Buffer Format
4645 @cindex summary buffer format
4649 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4650 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4651 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4657 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4658 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4659 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4660 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4663 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4664 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4665 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4666 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4667 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4668 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4669 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4670 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4671 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4672 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4673 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4676 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4677 'mail-extract-address-components)
4680 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4681 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4682 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4683 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4686 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4687 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4689 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4690 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4691 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4692 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4693 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4695 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4696 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4697 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4698 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4699 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4700 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4702 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4704 The following format specification characters and extended format
4705 specification(s) are understood:
4711 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4712 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4714 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4715 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4716 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4718 Full @code{From} header.
4720 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4722 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4725 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4726 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4727 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4728 may be more thorough.
4730 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4733 Number of lines in the article.
4735 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4736 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4738 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4739 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4741 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4743 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4744 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4757 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4758 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4759 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4760 line-drawing glyphs.
4762 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4763 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4764 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4765 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4767 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4768 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4769 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4770 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4772 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4773 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4774 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4775 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4777 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4778 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4779 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4781 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4782 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4783 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4785 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4786 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4787 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4789 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4790 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4791 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4796 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4797 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4799 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4800 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4802 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4803 for adopted articles.
4805 One space for each thread level.
4807 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4809 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4812 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4813 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4814 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4817 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4819 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4820 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4821 default level. If the difference between
4822 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4823 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4831 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4833 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4839 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4840 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4842 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4843 article has any children.
4849 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4851 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4852 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4854 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4855 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4856 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4857 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4858 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4859 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4862 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4863 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4864 There can only be one such area.
4866 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4867 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4868 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4869 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4870 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4871 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4873 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4874 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4876 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4879 @node To From Newsgroups
4880 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4884 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4885 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4886 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4887 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4888 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4892 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4893 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4894 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4898 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4899 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4902 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4903 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4906 @findex gnus-extra-header
4907 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4908 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4909 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4912 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4916 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4917 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4918 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4919 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4920 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4921 headers are used instead.
4923 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
4924 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
4925 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
4926 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
4927 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
4928 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
4932 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4933 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4934 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4935 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4936 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4937 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4940 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4941 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4942 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4943 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4945 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4949 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4951 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4952 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4953 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4954 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4958 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4961 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4962 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4965 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4966 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4967 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4973 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4974 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4977 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4978 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4980 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4981 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4982 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4983 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4985 Here are the elements you can play with:
4991 Unprefixed group name.
4993 Current article number.
4995 Current article score.
4999 Number of unread articles in this group.
5001 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5004 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5005 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5006 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5007 and no unselected ones.
5009 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5010 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5012 Subject of the current article.
5014 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5016 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5018 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5020 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5022 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5024 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5028 @node Summary Highlighting
5029 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5033 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5034 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5035 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5036 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5037 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5039 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5040 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5041 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5042 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5044 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5045 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5046 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5047 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5049 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5050 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5051 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5052 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5053 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5054 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5057 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5058 ((> score default) . bold))
5060 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5061 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5065 @node Summary Maneuvering
5066 @section Summary Maneuvering
5067 @cindex summary movement
5069 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5070 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5072 None of these commands select articles.
5077 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5078 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5079 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5080 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5081 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5085 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5086 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5087 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5088 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5089 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5092 @kindex G g (Summary)
5093 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5094 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5095 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5098 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5099 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5100 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5101 to the group buffer.
5103 Variables related to summary movement:
5107 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5108 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5109 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5110 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5111 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5112 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5113 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5114 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5115 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5116 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5117 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5118 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5119 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5120 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5122 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5123 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5124 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5125 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5126 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5127 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5128 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5130 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5132 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5133 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5134 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5135 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5136 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5138 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5139 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5140 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5141 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5142 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5143 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5144 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5145 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5148 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5149 the given number of lines from the top.
5154 @node Choosing Articles
5155 @section Choosing Articles
5156 @cindex selecting articles
5159 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5160 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5164 @node Choosing Commands
5165 @subsection Choosing Commands
5167 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5168 and they all select and display an article.
5170 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5171 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5175 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5176 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5177 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5178 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5180 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5181 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5182 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5187 @kindex G n (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5189 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5190 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5195 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5196 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5197 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5202 @kindex G N (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5204 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5209 @kindex G P (Summary)
5210 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5211 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5214 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5216 Go to the next article with the same subject
5217 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5220 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5221 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5222 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5223 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5227 @kindex G f (Summary)
5229 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5230 Go to the first unread article
5231 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5235 @kindex G b (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5238 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5239 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5240 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5245 @kindex G l (Summary)
5246 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5247 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5250 @kindex G o (Summary)
5251 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5253 @cindex article history
5254 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5255 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5256 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5257 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5258 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5259 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5264 @kindex G j (Summary)
5265 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5266 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5267 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5272 @node Choosing Variables
5273 @subsection Choosing Variables
5275 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5278 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5279 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5280 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5281 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5282 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5283 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5285 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5286 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5287 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5288 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5289 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5292 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5293 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5294 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5295 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5296 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5297 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5298 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5299 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5300 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5301 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5302 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5303 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5304 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5305 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5310 @node Paging the Article
5311 @section Scrolling the Article
5312 @cindex article scrolling
5317 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5318 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5319 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5320 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5321 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5323 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5324 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5325 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5326 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5327 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5328 what is considered uninteresting with
5329 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5330 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5333 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5334 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5335 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5338 @kindex RET (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5340 Scroll the current article one line forward
5341 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5344 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5346 Scroll the current article one line backward
5347 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5351 @kindex A g (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5354 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5355 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5356 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5357 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5358 the way it came from the server.
5360 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5361 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5362 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5365 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5370 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5375 @kindex A < (Summary)
5376 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5377 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5378 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5383 @kindex A > (Summary)
5384 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5385 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5389 @kindex A s (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5392 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5393 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5397 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5398 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5403 @node Reply Followup and Post
5404 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5407 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5408 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5409 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5410 * Canceling and Superseding::
5414 @node Summary Mail Commands
5415 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5417 @cindex composing mail
5419 Commands for composing a mail message:
5425 @kindex S r (Summary)
5427 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5428 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5429 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5430 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5431 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5436 @kindex S R (Summary)
5437 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5438 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5439 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5440 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5441 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5444 @kindex S w (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5446 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5447 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5448 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5449 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5450 present, that's used instead.
5453 @kindex S W (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5455 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5456 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5457 the process/prefix convention.
5460 @kindex S v (Summary)
5461 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5462 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5463 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5464 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5465 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5466 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5469 @kindex S V (Summary)
5470 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5471 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5472 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5473 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5476 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5477 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5478 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5479 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5480 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5481 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5482 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5483 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5486 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5487 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5488 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5489 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5490 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5494 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5495 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5496 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5497 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5498 Forward the current article to some other person
5499 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5500 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5501 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5502 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5503 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5504 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5505 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5506 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5507 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5513 @kindex S m (Summary)
5514 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5515 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5516 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5517 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5518 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5523 @kindex S i (Summary)
5524 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5525 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5526 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5527 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5529 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5530 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5531 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5532 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5533 for this to work though.
5536 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5537 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5538 @cindex bouncing mail
5539 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5540 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5541 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5542 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5543 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5544 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5545 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5546 very well fail, though.
5549 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5550 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5551 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5552 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5553 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5554 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5555 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5556 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5557 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5558 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5560 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5561 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5562 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5563 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5564 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5566 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5567 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5570 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5571 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5573 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5574 if it were a new message before resending.
5577 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5578 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5579 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5580 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5581 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5584 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5585 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5586 @cindex crossposting
5587 @cindex excessive crossposting
5588 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5589 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5591 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5592 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5593 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5594 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5595 command understands the process/prefix convention
5596 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5600 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5601 Manual}, for more information.
5604 @node Summary Post Commands
5605 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5607 @cindex composing news
5609 Commands for posting a news article:
5615 @kindex S p (Summary)
5616 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5617 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5618 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5619 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5620 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5625 @kindex S f (Summary)
5626 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5627 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5628 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5632 @kindex S F (Summary)
5634 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5635 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5636 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5637 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5638 process/prefix convention.
5641 @kindex S n (Summary)
5642 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5643 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5644 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5647 @kindex S N (Summary)
5648 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5649 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5650 message through mail and include the original message
5651 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5652 the process/prefix convention.
5655 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5656 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5657 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5658 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5659 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5660 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5661 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5662 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5663 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5664 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5665 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5666 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5667 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5670 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5671 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5673 @cindex making digests
5674 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5675 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5676 process/prefix convention.
5679 @kindex S u (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5681 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5682 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5683 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5686 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5687 Manual}, for more information.
5690 @node Summary Message Commands
5691 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5695 @kindex S y (Summary)
5696 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5697 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5698 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5699 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5700 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5705 @node Canceling and Superseding
5706 @subsection Canceling Articles
5707 @cindex canceling articles
5708 @cindex superseding articles
5710 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5711 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5713 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5715 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5717 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5718 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5719 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5720 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5721 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5722 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5724 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5725 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5728 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5729 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5730 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5732 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5733 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5734 message, Message Manual}).
5736 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5737 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5738 your original article.
5740 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5742 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5743 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5744 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5747 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5748 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5749 have posted almost the same article twice.
5751 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5752 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5753 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5754 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5755 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5756 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5757 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5758 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5759 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5760 canceled/superseded.
5762 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5764 @node Delayed Articles
5765 @section Delayed Articles
5766 @cindex delayed sending
5767 @cindex send delayed
5769 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5770 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5771 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5772 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5775 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5778 @findex gnus-delay-article
5779 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5780 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5781 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5782 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5786 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5787 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5788 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5789 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5792 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5793 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5794 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5797 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5798 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5799 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5800 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5801 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5802 that means a time tomorrow.
5805 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5806 couple of variables:
5809 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5810 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5811 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5812 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5814 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5815 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5816 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5817 formats described above.
5819 @item gnus-delay-group
5820 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5821 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5822 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5823 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5825 @item gnus-delay-header
5826 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5827 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5828 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5829 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5832 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5833 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5834 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5835 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5836 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5838 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5839 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5840 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5841 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5842 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5843 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5844 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5847 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5848 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5849 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5850 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5851 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5852 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5853 argument is ignored.
5855 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5856 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5857 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5861 @node Marking Articles
5862 @section Marking Articles
5863 @cindex article marking
5864 @cindex article ticking
5867 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5869 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5870 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5871 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5873 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5876 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5880 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5881 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5882 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5883 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5884 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5885 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5889 @node Unread Articles
5890 @subsection Unread Articles
5892 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5897 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5898 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5900 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5901 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5902 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5903 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5904 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5905 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5906 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5909 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5910 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5912 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5913 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5914 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5915 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5919 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5920 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5922 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5927 @subsection Read Articles
5928 @cindex expirable mark
5930 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5935 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5936 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5937 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5940 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5941 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5944 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5945 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5946 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5949 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5950 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5953 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5954 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5957 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5958 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5961 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5962 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5965 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5966 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5969 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5970 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5973 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5974 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5978 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5979 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5980 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5984 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5985 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5987 One more special mark, though:
5991 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5992 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5994 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5995 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5996 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5997 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6003 @subsection Other Marks
6004 @cindex process mark
6007 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6013 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6014 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6015 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6016 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6017 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6020 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6021 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6022 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6023 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6026 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6027 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6028 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6031 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6032 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6033 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6036 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6037 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6038 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6039 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6042 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6043 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6044 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6045 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6046 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6047 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6050 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6051 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6052 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6053 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6056 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6057 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6058 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6059 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6060 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6064 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6065 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6066 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6067 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6068 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6069 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6072 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6073 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6074 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6075 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6076 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6077 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6081 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6082 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6083 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6084 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6085 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6088 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6089 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6090 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6091 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6092 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6093 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6097 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6098 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6099 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6101 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6102 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6103 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6107 @subsection Setting Marks
6108 @cindex setting marks
6110 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6115 @kindex M c (Summary)
6116 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6117 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6118 @cindex mark as unread
6119 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6120 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6126 @kindex M t (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6128 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6129 @xref{Article Caching}.
6134 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6135 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6136 Mark the current article as dormant
6137 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6141 @kindex M d (Summary)
6143 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6144 Mark the current article as read
6145 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6149 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6150 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6151 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6156 @kindex M k (Summary)
6157 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6158 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6159 and then select the next unread article
6160 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6164 @kindex M K (Summary)
6165 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6166 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6167 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6168 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6171 @kindex M C (Summary)
6172 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6173 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6174 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6177 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6178 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6179 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6180 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6183 @kindex M H (Summary)
6184 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6185 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6186 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6189 @kindex M h (Summary)
6190 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6191 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6192 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6195 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6197 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6198 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6201 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6202 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6203 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6204 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6208 @kindex M e (Summary)
6210 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6211 Mark the current article as expirable
6212 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6215 @kindex M b (Summary)
6216 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6217 Set a bookmark in the current article
6218 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6221 @kindex M B (Summary)
6222 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6223 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6224 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6227 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6228 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6229 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6230 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6233 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6234 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6235 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6236 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6239 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6240 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6241 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6242 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6243 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6246 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6247 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6248 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6249 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6250 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6251 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6252 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6253 The default is @code{t}.
6256 @node Generic Marking Commands
6257 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6259 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6260 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6261 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6262 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6263 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6266 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6267 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6270 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6271 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6272 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6273 to list in this manual.
6275 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6276 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6277 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6278 article, you could say something like:
6282 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6283 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6284 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6292 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6293 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6297 @node Setting Process Marks
6298 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6299 @cindex setting process marks
6301 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6302 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6303 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6304 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6305 articles into the cache. For more information,
6306 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6313 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6315 Mark the current article with the process mark
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6317 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6321 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6322 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6323 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6324 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6327 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6328 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6329 Remove the process mark from all articles
6330 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6333 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6334 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6335 Invert the list of process marked articles
6336 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6339 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6341 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6342 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6345 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6346 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6347 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6348 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6351 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6352 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6353 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6356 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6357 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6358 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6361 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6362 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6363 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6364 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6367 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6368 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6369 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6370 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6373 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6375 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6376 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6379 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6380 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6381 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6384 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6385 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6386 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6387 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6390 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6391 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6392 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6395 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6396 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6397 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6398 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6401 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6403 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6404 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6407 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6409 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6410 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6413 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6415 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6416 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6420 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6421 set process marks based on article body contents.
6428 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6429 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6430 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6433 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6434 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6435 additional articles.
6441 @kindex / / (Summary)
6442 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6443 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6444 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6448 @kindex / a (Summary)
6449 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6450 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6451 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6455 @kindex / R (Summary)
6456 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6457 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6458 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6462 @kindex / A (Summary)
6463 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
6464 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
6465 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
6466 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
6469 @kindex / S (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6471 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6472 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6473 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6476 @kindex / x (Summary)
6477 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6478 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6479 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6480 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6485 @kindex / u (Summary)
6487 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6488 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6489 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6490 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6491 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6494 @kindex / m (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6496 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6497 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6500 @kindex / t (Summary)
6501 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6502 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6503 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6504 articles younger than that number of days.
6507 @kindex / n (Summary)
6508 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6509 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6510 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6511 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6514 @kindex / w (Summary)
6515 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6516 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6517 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6521 @kindex / . (Summary)
6522 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6523 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6524 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6527 @kindex / v (Summary)
6528 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6529 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6530 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6533 @kindex / p (Summary)
6534 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6535 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6536 group parameter predicate
6537 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6538 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6541 @kindex / r (Summary)
6542 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6543 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6544 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6549 @kindex M S (Summary)
6550 @kindex / E (Summary)
6551 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6552 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6553 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6556 @kindex / D (Summary)
6557 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6558 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6559 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6562 @kindex / * (Summary)
6563 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6564 Include all cached articles in the limit
6565 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6568 @kindex / d (Summary)
6569 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6570 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6571 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6574 @kindex / M (Summary)
6575 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6576 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6579 @kindex / T (Summary)
6580 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6581 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6584 @kindex / c (Summary)
6585 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6586 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6587 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6590 @kindex / C (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6592 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6593 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6594 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6597 @kindex / N (Summary)
6598 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6599 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6600 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6603 @kindex / o (Summary)
6604 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6605 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6606 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6609 @kindex / b (Summary)
6610 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6611 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6612 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6613 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6614 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6617 @kindex / h (Summary)
6618 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6619 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6620 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6628 @cindex article threading
6630 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6631 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6632 hierarchical fashion.
6634 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6635 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6636 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6637 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6638 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6639 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6640 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6642 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6646 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6649 A tree-like article structure.
6652 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6655 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6656 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6657 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6658 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6659 called loose threads.
6661 @item thread gathering
6662 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6664 @item sparse threads
6665 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6666 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6672 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6673 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6677 @node Customizing Threading
6678 @subsection Customizing Threading
6679 @cindex customizing threading
6682 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6683 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6684 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6685 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6690 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6693 @cindex loose threads
6696 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6697 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6698 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6699 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6700 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6701 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6703 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6704 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6705 There are four possible values:
6709 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6710 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6711 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6712 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6713 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6718 @cindex adopting articles
6723 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6724 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6725 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6726 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6729 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6730 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6731 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6732 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6733 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6734 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6735 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6736 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6737 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6738 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6741 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6742 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6743 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6747 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6748 display them after one another.
6751 Don't gather loose threads.
6754 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6755 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6756 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6757 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6758 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6759 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6760 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6761 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6762 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6763 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6764 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6766 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6767 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6768 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6771 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6772 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6773 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6774 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6775 simplification is used.
6777 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6778 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6779 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6780 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6782 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6784 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6790 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6791 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6792 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6793 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6798 (mapconcat 'identity
6799 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6801 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6804 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6807 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6808 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6809 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6810 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6811 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6812 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6814 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6817 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6818 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6819 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6821 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6822 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6825 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6826 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6827 Remove excessive whitespace.
6829 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6830 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6831 Remove all whitespace.
6834 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6837 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6838 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6839 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6840 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6841 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6842 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6843 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6844 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6846 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6847 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6848 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6849 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6850 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6851 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6852 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6853 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6854 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6858 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6859 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6860 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6861 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6863 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6864 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6865 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6868 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6872 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6873 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6879 @node Filling In Threads
6880 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6883 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6884 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6885 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6886 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6887 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6888 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6889 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6890 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6891 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6892 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6893 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6894 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6897 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6898 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6899 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6901 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6902 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6903 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6906 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6907 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6908 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6909 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6910 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6911 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6912 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6913 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6914 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6915 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6916 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6917 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6918 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6919 @code{nil} by default.
6921 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6922 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6923 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6924 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6925 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6926 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6927 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6929 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6930 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6931 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6936 @node More Threading
6937 @subsubsection More Threading
6940 @item gnus-show-threads
6941 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6942 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6943 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6944 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6945 slower and more awkward.
6947 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6948 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6949 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6952 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6953 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6954 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6959 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6960 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6961 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6964 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6965 unread, but you get my drift.)
6968 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6969 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6970 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6971 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6972 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6973 threads are expunged.
6975 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6976 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6977 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6980 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6981 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6982 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6983 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6984 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6985 result in a new thread.
6987 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6988 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6989 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6992 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6993 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6994 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6995 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6996 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6997 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6998 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6999 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7000 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7001 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7002 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7007 @node Low-Level Threading
7008 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7012 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7013 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7014 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7016 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7017 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7018 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7019 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7020 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7021 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7022 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7023 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7024 meaningful. Here's one example:
7027 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7029 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7030 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7032 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7034 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7041 @node Thread Commands
7042 @subsection Thread Commands
7043 @cindex thread commands
7049 @kindex T k (Summary)
7050 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7051 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7052 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7053 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7054 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7059 @kindex T l (Summary)
7060 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7061 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7062 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7063 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7066 @kindex T i (Summary)
7067 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7068 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7069 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7072 @kindex T # (Summary)
7073 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7074 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7075 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7078 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7079 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7080 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7081 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7084 @kindex T T (Summary)
7085 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7086 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7089 @kindex T s (Summary)
7090 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7091 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7092 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7095 @kindex T h (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7097 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7100 @kindex T S (Summary)
7101 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7102 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7105 @kindex T H (Summary)
7106 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7107 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7110 @kindex T t (Summary)
7111 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7112 Re-thread the current article's thread
7113 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7114 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7117 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7118 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7119 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7120 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7123 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7124 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7125 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7126 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7130 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7131 understand the numeric prefix.
7136 @kindex T n (Summary)
7138 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7140 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7141 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7142 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7145 @kindex T p (Summary)
7147 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7149 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7150 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7151 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7154 @kindex T d (Summary)
7155 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7156 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7159 @kindex T u (Summary)
7160 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7161 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7164 @kindex T o (Summary)
7165 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7166 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7169 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7170 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7171 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7172 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7173 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7174 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7175 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7176 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7177 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7178 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7179 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7180 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7184 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7185 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7187 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7188 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7189 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse
7190 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7191 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7192 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7193 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7194 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7195 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7196 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7197 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7198 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7199 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7200 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7201 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7202 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7204 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7205 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7206 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7207 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7208 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date-reverse},
7209 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7210 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7211 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7212 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7213 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7215 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7216 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7217 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7219 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7220 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7221 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7222 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7223 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7224 ascending article order.
7226 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7227 by number, you could do something like:
7230 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7231 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7232 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7233 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7236 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7237 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7238 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7239 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7240 which the articles arrived.
7242 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7246 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7247 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7248 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7251 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7252 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7253 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7254 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7257 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7258 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7259 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7260 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7261 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7262 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7263 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7264 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7265 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7266 variable. It is very similar to the
7267 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7268 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7269 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7270 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7271 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7272 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7273 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7275 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7279 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7280 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7281 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7284 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7285 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7288 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7289 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7290 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7291 @cindex article pre-fetch
7294 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7295 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7296 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7297 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7298 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7300 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7301 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7303 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7304 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7305 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7306 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7307 connection is blocked.
7309 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7310 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7311 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7312 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7314 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7315 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7316 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7317 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7320 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7323 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7324 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7325 happen automatically.
7327 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7328 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7329 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7330 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7331 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7332 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7333 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7335 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7336 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
7337 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7338 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7339 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7340 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7341 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
7342 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7343 article data structure as the only parameter.
7345 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7346 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7349 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7350 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7351 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7352 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7355 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7358 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7359 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7360 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7362 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7363 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7364 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7365 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7369 Remove articles when they are read.
7372 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7375 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7377 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7378 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7379 @c from the next group.
7382 @node Article Caching
7383 @section Article Caching
7384 @cindex article caching
7387 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7388 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7389 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7390 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7391 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7393 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7395 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7396 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7397 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7398 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7399 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7400 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7401 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7402 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7404 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7405 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7406 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7407 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7408 as dormant, and don't worry.
7410 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7412 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7413 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7414 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7415 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7416 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7417 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7418 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7419 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7420 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7421 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7423 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7424 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7425 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7426 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7427 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7428 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7429 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7430 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7431 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7432 not then be downloaded by this command.
7434 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7435 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7436 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7437 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7438 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7439 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7441 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7442 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7443 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7444 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7445 variables, the group is not cached.
7447 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7448 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7449 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7450 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7451 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7452 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7453 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7454 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7455 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7458 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7459 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7460 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7461 where, isn't that cool?
7463 @node Persistent Articles
7464 @section Persistent Articles
7465 @cindex persistent articles
7467 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7468 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7469 useful in my opinion.
7471 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7472 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7473 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7474 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7475 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7476 the expiry going on at the news server.
7478 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7479 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7480 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7486 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7487 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7490 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7491 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7492 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7493 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7497 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7499 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7500 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7501 interested in persistent articles:
7504 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7507 @node Sticky Articles
7508 @section Sticky Articles
7509 @cindex sticky articles
7511 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
7512 according to the value of the variable
7513 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
7514 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
7515 has its own article buffer.
7517 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
7518 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
7519 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
7520 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next christmas party.
7522 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
7523 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
7524 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
7528 @kindex A S (Summary)
7529 @findex gnus-sticky-article
7530 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
7531 name for this sticky article buffer.
7534 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
7540 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
7544 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
7545 Kills this sticky article buffer.
7548 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
7550 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
7551 Kill all sticky article buffers.
7552 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
7555 @node Article Backlog
7556 @section Article Backlog
7558 @cindex article backlog
7560 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7561 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7562 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7563 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7564 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7565 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7566 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7567 increase memory usage some.
7569 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7570 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7571 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7572 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7573 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7574 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7575 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7577 The default value is 20.
7580 @node Saving Articles
7581 @section Saving Articles
7582 @cindex saving articles
7584 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7585 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7586 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7587 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7588 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7590 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7591 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7592 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7594 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7595 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7596 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7598 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7599 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7600 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7601 deleted before saving.
7607 @kindex O o (Summary)
7609 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7610 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7611 Save the current article using the default article saver
7612 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7615 @kindex O m (Summary)
7616 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7617 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7618 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7621 @kindex O r (Summary)
7622 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7623 Save the current article in Rmail format
7624 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7627 @kindex O f (Summary)
7628 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7629 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7630 Save the current article in plain file format
7631 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7634 @kindex O F (Summary)
7635 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7636 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7637 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7640 @kindex O b (Summary)
7641 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7642 Save the current article body in plain file format
7643 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7646 @kindex O h (Summary)
7647 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7648 Save the current article in mh folder format
7649 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7652 @kindex O v (Summary)
7653 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7654 Save the current article in a VM folder
7655 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7659 @kindex O p (Summary)
7661 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7662 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7663 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7664 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7665 complete headers in the piped output.
7668 @kindex O P (Summary)
7669 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7670 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7671 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7672 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7673 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7674 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7675 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7679 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7680 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7681 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7682 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7683 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7684 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7685 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7686 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7687 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7688 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7689 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7690 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7694 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7695 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7696 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7697 functions below, or you can create your own.
7701 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7702 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7703 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7704 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7705 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7706 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7707 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7709 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7710 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7711 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7712 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7713 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7714 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7716 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7717 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7718 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7719 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7720 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7721 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7722 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7724 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7725 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7726 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7727 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7728 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7729 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7731 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7732 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7733 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7734 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7735 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7737 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7738 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7739 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7740 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7741 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7742 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7744 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7745 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7746 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7747 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7748 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7751 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7752 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7753 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7754 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7755 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7757 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7758 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7759 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7760 reader to use this setting.
7763 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7767 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7768 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7769 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7770 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file}, and
7771 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7774 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7775 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7776 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7777 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7778 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7779 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7782 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7783 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7784 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7785 headers should be saved.
7788 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7789 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7790 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7791 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7794 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7795 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7796 available functions that generate names:
7800 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7801 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7802 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7804 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7805 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7806 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7808 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7809 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7810 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7812 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7813 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7814 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7816 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7817 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7818 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7821 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7822 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7823 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7824 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7825 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7829 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7830 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7831 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7832 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7835 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7836 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7837 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7838 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7839 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7840 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7841 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7842 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7843 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7845 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7846 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7847 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7848 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7850 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7851 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7852 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7855 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7856 lots of mail groups called things like
7857 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7858 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7859 following will do just that:
7862 (defun my-save-name (group)
7863 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7864 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7866 (setq gnus-split-methods
7867 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7872 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7873 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7874 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7875 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7876 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7877 all the files in the top level directory
7878 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7879 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7880 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7881 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7883 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7884 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7885 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7886 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7887 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7890 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7894 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7895 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7896 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7899 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7900 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7901 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7902 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7905 @node Decoding Articles
7906 @section Decoding Articles
7907 @cindex decoding articles
7909 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7910 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7913 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7914 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7915 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7916 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7917 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7918 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7922 @cindex article series
7923 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7924 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7925 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7926 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7927 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7929 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7930 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7931 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7933 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7934 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7935 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7937 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7938 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7939 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7942 @node Uuencoded Articles
7943 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7945 @cindex uuencoded articles
7950 @kindex X u (Summary)
7951 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7952 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7953 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7956 @kindex X U (Summary)
7957 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7958 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7959 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7962 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7963 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7964 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7967 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7968 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7969 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7970 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7974 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7975 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7976 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7977 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7978 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7980 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7981 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7982 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7983 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7986 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7987 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7988 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7989 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7990 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7991 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7995 @node Shell Archives
7996 @subsection Shell Archives
7998 @cindex shell archives
7999 @cindex shared articles
8001 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8002 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8003 some commands to deal with these:
8008 @kindex X s (Summary)
8009 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8010 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8013 @kindex X S (Summary)
8014 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8015 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8018 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8019 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8020 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8023 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8024 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8025 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8026 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8030 @node PostScript Files
8031 @subsection PostScript Files
8037 @kindex X p (Summary)
8038 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8039 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8042 @kindex X P (Summary)
8043 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8044 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8045 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8048 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8049 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8050 View the current PostScript series
8051 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8054 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8055 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8056 View and save the current PostScript series
8057 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8062 @subsection Other Files
8066 @kindex X o (Summary)
8067 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8068 Save the current series
8069 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8072 @kindex X b (Summary)
8073 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8074 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8075 doesn't really work yet.
8079 @node Decoding Variables
8080 @subsection Decoding Variables
8082 Adjective, not verb.
8085 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8086 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8087 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8091 @node Rule Variables
8092 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8093 @cindex rule variables
8095 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8096 variables are of the form
8099 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8106 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8107 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8109 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8110 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8113 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8114 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8117 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8118 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8119 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8120 user and default view rules.
8122 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8123 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8124 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8129 @node Other Decode Variables
8130 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8133 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8135 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8136 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8137 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8138 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8139 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8143 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8144 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8147 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8148 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8149 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8152 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8153 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8154 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8155 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8156 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8159 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8160 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8161 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8163 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8164 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8165 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8166 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8167 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8170 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8171 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8172 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8174 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8175 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8176 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8177 looking for files to display.
8179 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8180 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8181 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8184 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8185 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8186 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8189 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8190 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8191 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8194 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8195 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8196 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8199 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8200 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8201 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8202 decoded articles as unread.
8204 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8205 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8206 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8207 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8209 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8210 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8211 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8213 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8214 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8216 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8217 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8218 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8219 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8221 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8222 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8223 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8224 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8225 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8226 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8227 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8228 simply dropped them.
8233 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8234 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8238 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8239 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8240 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8241 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8242 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8243 for you when you post the article.
8245 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8246 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8247 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8248 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8250 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8251 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8252 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8253 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8254 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8255 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8256 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8258 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8259 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8260 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8261 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8262 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8263 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8264 Default is @code{t}.
8270 @subsection Viewing Files
8271 @cindex viewing files
8272 @cindex pseudo-articles
8274 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8275 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8276 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8277 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8278 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8279 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8280 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8282 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8283 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8284 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8285 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8287 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8288 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8289 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8291 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8292 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8293 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8294 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8295 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8297 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8298 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8299 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8300 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8301 a list of parameters to that command.
8303 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8304 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8305 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8307 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8308 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8309 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8312 @node Article Treatment
8313 @section Article Treatment
8315 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8316 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8317 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8318 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8319 these articles easier.
8322 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8323 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8324 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8325 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8326 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8327 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8328 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8329 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8330 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8331 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8332 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8336 @node Article Highlighting
8337 @subsection Article Highlighting
8338 @cindex highlighting
8340 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8341 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8346 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8347 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8348 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8349 Do much highlighting of the current article
8350 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8351 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8354 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8355 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8356 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8357 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8358 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8359 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8360 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8361 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8362 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8363 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8364 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8365 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8368 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8369 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8370 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8372 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8375 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8377 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8378 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8379 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8381 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8382 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8383 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8385 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8386 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8387 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8388 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8389 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8390 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8392 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8393 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8394 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8396 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8397 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8398 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8400 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8401 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8402 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8403 that it's a citation.
8405 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8406 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8407 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8409 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8410 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8411 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8413 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8414 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8415 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8416 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8418 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8419 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8420 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8421 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8422 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8429 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8430 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8431 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8432 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8433 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8434 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8435 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8436 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8441 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8444 @node Article Fontisizing
8445 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8447 @cindex article emphasis
8449 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8450 @kindex W e (Summary)
8451 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8452 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8453 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8454 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8456 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8457 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8458 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8459 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8460 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8461 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8462 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8463 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8467 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8468 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8469 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8478 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8479 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8480 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8481 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8482 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8483 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8484 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8485 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8486 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8487 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8488 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8489 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8490 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8492 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8493 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8494 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8498 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8501 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8503 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8504 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8505 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8506 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8508 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8511 @node Article Hiding
8512 @subsection Article Hiding
8513 @cindex article hiding
8515 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8516 too much cruft in most articles.
8521 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8522 @findex gnus-article-hide
8523 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8524 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8525 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8528 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8529 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8530 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8534 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8535 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8536 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8537 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8540 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8541 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8542 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8546 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8547 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8548 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8549 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8550 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8551 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8552 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8553 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8557 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8558 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8559 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8560 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8565 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8566 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8567 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8568 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8571 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8572 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8573 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8574 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8577 @cindex stripping advertisements
8578 @cindex advertisements
8579 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8580 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8581 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8582 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8583 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8584 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8585 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8586 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8587 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8588 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8591 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8592 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8593 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8597 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8598 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8599 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8600 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8601 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8602 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8603 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8604 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8605 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8606 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8607 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8610 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8611 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8617 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8618 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8619 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8620 customizing the hiding:
8624 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8625 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8626 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8627 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8628 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8629 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8630 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8635 Starting point of the hidden text.
8637 Ending point of the hidden text.
8639 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8641 Number of lines of hidden text.
8644 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8645 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8646 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8647 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8648 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8653 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8654 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8656 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8657 following two variables:
8660 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8661 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8662 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8663 50), hide the cited text.
8665 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8666 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8667 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8672 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8673 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8674 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8675 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8676 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8677 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8681 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8682 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8683 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8685 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8686 citation customization.
8688 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8692 @node Article Washing
8693 @subsection Article Washing
8695 @cindex article washing
8697 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8698 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8700 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8701 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8704 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8705 articles by default.
8710 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8711 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8715 Force redisplaying of the current article
8716 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8717 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8718 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8719 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8722 @kindex W l (Summary)
8723 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8724 Remove page breaks from the current article
8725 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8729 @kindex W r (Summary)
8730 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8731 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8732 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8733 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8734 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8735 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8737 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8738 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8739 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8740 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8743 @kindex W m (Summary)
8744 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8745 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8748 @kindex W i (Summary)
8749 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8750 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8751 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8752 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8753 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8754 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8759 @kindex W t (Summary)
8761 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8762 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8763 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8766 @kindex W v (Summary)
8767 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8768 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8769 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8772 @kindex W o (Summary)
8773 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8774 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8777 @kindex W d (Summary)
8778 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8779 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8781 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8783 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8784 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8785 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8786 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8789 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8790 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8791 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8792 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8795 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8796 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8797 @cindex Outlook Express
8798 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8799 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8800 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8803 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8804 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8805 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8806 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8807 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8808 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8809 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8810 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8811 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8812 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8815 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8816 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8817 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8818 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8821 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8822 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8823 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8824 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8827 @kindex W w (Summary)
8828 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8829 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8831 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8835 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8836 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8837 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8840 @kindex W C (Summary)
8841 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8842 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8843 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8846 @kindex W c (Summary)
8847 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8848 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8849 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8850 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8851 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8854 @kindex W q (Summary)
8855 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8856 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8857 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8858 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8859 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8860 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8861 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8862 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8863 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8866 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8867 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8868 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8869 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8870 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8871 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8872 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8873 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8876 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8877 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8878 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8879 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8880 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8883 @kindex W A (Summary)
8884 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8885 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8886 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8887 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8888 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8891 @kindex W u (Summary)
8892 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8893 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8894 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8895 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8896 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8899 @kindex W h (Summary)
8900 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8901 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8902 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8903 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8905 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
8906 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
8907 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
8909 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8910 The default is to use the function specified by
8911 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8912 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8913 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8914 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8922 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8924 @item w3m-standalone
8925 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
8928 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8931 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8934 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8939 @kindex W b (Summary)
8940 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8941 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8942 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8945 @kindex W B (Summary)
8946 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8947 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8948 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8951 @kindex W p (Summary)
8952 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8953 Verify a signed control message
8954 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8955 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8956 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8957 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8958 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8959 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8962 @kindex W s (Summary)
8963 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8964 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8965 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8966 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8969 @kindex W a (Summary)
8970 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8971 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8972 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8975 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8976 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8977 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8978 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8981 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8982 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8983 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8984 lines with a single empty line.
8985 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8988 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8989 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8990 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8991 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8994 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8995 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8996 Do all the three commands above
8997 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9000 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9001 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9002 Remove all blank lines
9003 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9006 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9007 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9008 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9009 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9012 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9013 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9014 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9015 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9019 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9022 @node Article Header
9023 @subsection Article Header
9025 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9030 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9031 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9032 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9035 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9036 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9037 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9038 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9041 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9042 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9043 Fold all the message headers
9044 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9047 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9048 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9049 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9050 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9055 @node Article Buttons
9056 @subsection Article Buttons
9059 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9060 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9061 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9062 button on these references.
9064 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9065 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9066 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9067 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9068 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9072 @item gnus-button-alist
9073 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9074 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9077 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9083 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9084 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9085 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9086 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9087 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9090 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9091 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9092 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9095 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9096 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9097 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9098 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9099 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9101 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9104 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9107 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9108 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9112 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9115 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9118 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9119 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9120 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9121 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9122 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9125 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9128 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9131 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9134 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9135 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9137 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9139 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9140 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9141 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9142 default values of the variables above.
9144 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9146 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9147 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9148 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9149 argument with a string naming the man page.
9151 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9153 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9154 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9155 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9157 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9158 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9159 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9160 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9161 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9162 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9163 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9164 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
9165 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9166 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9167 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9168 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9170 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9171 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9172 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9173 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9174 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9177 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9178 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9179 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9180 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9182 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
9184 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
9185 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
9186 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
9187 argument, the string naming the URL.
9190 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
9191 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
9192 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
9196 @item gnus-article-button-face
9197 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9198 Face used on buttons.
9200 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9201 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9202 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9206 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9209 @node Article Button Levels
9210 @subsection Article button levels
9211 @cindex button levels
9212 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9213 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9214 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9215 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9216 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9217 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9218 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9219 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9222 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9223 (setq gnus-parameters
9224 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9225 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9226 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9231 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9232 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9233 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9234 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9235 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9236 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9238 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9239 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9240 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9241 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9242 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9243 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9244 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9245 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9246 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9247 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9248 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9249 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9250 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9252 @item gnus-button-man-level
9253 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9254 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9255 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9257 @item gnus-button-message-level
9258 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9259 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9260 Related variables and functions include
9261 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9262 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9263 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9264 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9266 @item gnus-button-tex-level
9267 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
9268 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
9269 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
9270 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
9271 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
9272 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
9278 @subsection Article Date
9280 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9281 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9282 when the article was sent.
9287 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9288 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9289 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9290 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9293 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9294 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9296 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9297 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9300 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9301 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9302 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9305 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9306 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9307 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9308 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9311 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9312 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9313 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9314 @findex format-time-string
9315 Display the date using a user-defined format
9316 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9317 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9318 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9319 for a list of possible format specs.
9322 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9323 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9324 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9325 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9326 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9327 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9330 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9333 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9334 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9335 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9338 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9339 into wonderful absurdities.
9341 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9344 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9347 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9348 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9352 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9353 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9354 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9355 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9356 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9357 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9358 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9362 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9363 preferred format automatically.
9366 @node Article Display
9367 @subsection Article Display
9372 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9373 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9375 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9376 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9378 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9379 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9381 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9382 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9384 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9385 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9387 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9392 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9393 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9394 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9395 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9398 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9399 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9400 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9401 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9404 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9405 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9406 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9409 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9410 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9411 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9414 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9415 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9416 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9417 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9420 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9421 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9422 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9423 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9426 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9427 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9428 Remove all images from the article buffer
9429 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9435 @node Article Signature
9436 @subsection Article Signature
9438 @cindex article signature
9440 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9441 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9442 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9443 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9444 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9445 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9446 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9447 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9448 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9451 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9452 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9453 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9454 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9455 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9456 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9457 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9458 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9461 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9464 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9465 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9466 signature when displaying articles.
9470 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9473 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9476 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9477 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9479 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9480 in question is not a signature.
9483 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9484 listed above. Here's an example:
9487 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9488 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9491 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9492 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9493 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9494 signature after all.
9497 @node Article Miscellanea
9498 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9502 @kindex A t (Summary)
9503 @findex gnus-article-babel
9504 Translate the article from one language to another
9505 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9511 @section MIME Commands
9512 @cindex MIME decoding
9514 @cindex viewing attachments
9516 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9517 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9523 @kindex K v (Summary)
9524 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9527 @kindex K o (Summary)
9528 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9531 @kindex K O (Summary)
9532 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9533 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9534 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9537 @kindex K r (Summary)
9538 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9541 @kindex K d (Summary)
9542 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9546 @kindex K c (Summary)
9547 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9550 @kindex K e (Summary)
9551 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9554 @kindex K i (Summary)
9555 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9558 @kindex K | (Summary)
9559 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9562 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9567 @kindex K b (Summary)
9568 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9569 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9573 @kindex K m (Summary)
9574 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9575 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9576 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9577 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9578 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9581 @kindex X m (Summary)
9582 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9583 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9584 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9585 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9588 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9589 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9590 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9591 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9594 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9596 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9597 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9600 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9601 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9602 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9603 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9605 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9606 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9607 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9608 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9609 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9610 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9613 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9614 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9615 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9616 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9623 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9624 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9625 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9626 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9629 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9632 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9636 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9637 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9638 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9639 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9640 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9641 default is @code{nil}.
9643 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9644 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9647 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9648 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9649 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9650 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9651 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9652 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9653 for encoding in Gnus.
9655 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9656 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9657 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9658 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9659 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9660 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9661 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9662 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9664 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9665 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9666 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9667 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9668 displayed. This variable overrides
9669 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9670 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9673 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9674 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9675 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9677 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9678 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9679 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9680 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9681 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9683 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9684 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9685 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9686 default value is @code{nil}.
9688 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9689 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9690 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9691 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9692 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9693 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9694 save all jpegs into some directory).
9696 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9699 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9700 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9702 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9703 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9704 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9705 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9706 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9709 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9710 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9711 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9713 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9714 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9715 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9717 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9718 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9719 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9721 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9722 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9723 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9724 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9725 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9727 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9728 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9729 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9730 overrides @code{nil} values of
9731 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9732 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9734 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9735 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9736 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9737 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9739 Ready-made functions include@*
9740 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9741 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9742 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9743 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9744 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9745 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9746 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9747 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9748 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9749 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9750 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9751 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9753 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9754 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9756 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9757 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9758 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9761 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9762 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9763 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9764 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9768 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9777 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9778 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9779 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9780 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9781 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9782 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9783 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9785 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9786 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9787 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9788 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9790 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9791 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9792 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9793 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9794 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9795 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9796 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9797 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9798 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9800 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9801 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9802 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9803 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9804 quoted-printable header encoding.
9806 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9807 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9808 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9812 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9815 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9816 means encode all charsets),
9818 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9819 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9820 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9827 @cindex coding system aliases
9828 @cindex preferred charset
9830 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9831 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9832 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9834 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9836 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9837 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9840 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9841 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9844 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9845 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9847 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9850 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9853 This will almost do the right thing.
9855 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9859 (codepage-setup 1251)
9860 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9864 @node Article Commands
9865 @section Article Commands
9872 @kindex A P (Summary)
9873 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9874 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9875 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9876 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9877 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9878 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9883 @node Summary Sorting
9884 @section Summary Sorting
9885 @cindex summary sorting
9887 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9888 can't really see why you'd want that.
9893 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9894 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9895 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9898 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9899 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9900 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9903 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
9904 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
9905 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
9908 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9909 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9910 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9913 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9914 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9915 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9918 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9919 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9920 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9923 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9924 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9925 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9928 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9929 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9930 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9933 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9934 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9935 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9938 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9939 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9940 Sort using the default sorting method
9941 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9944 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9945 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9946 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9947 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9948 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9952 @node Finding the Parent
9953 @section Finding the Parent
9954 @cindex parent articles
9955 @cindex referring articles
9960 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9961 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9962 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9963 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9964 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9965 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9966 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9967 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9968 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9970 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9971 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9972 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9973 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9974 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9978 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9979 @kindex A R (Summary)
9980 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9981 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9984 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9985 @kindex A T (Summary)
9986 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9987 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9988 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9989 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9990 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9991 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9992 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9994 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9995 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9996 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9997 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9998 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9999 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10001 @item M-^ (Summary)
10002 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10003 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10005 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10006 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10007 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10008 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10009 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10010 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10012 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10013 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10014 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10017 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10018 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10019 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10020 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10021 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10022 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10025 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10026 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10027 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10030 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10031 then ask Google if that fails:
10034 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10036 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10039 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10040 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10041 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10042 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10043 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10044 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
10045 not support this at all.
10048 @node Alternative Approaches
10049 @section Alternative Approaches
10051 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10052 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
10055 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
10056 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
10060 @node Pick and Read
10061 @subsection Pick and Read
10062 @cindex pick and read
10064 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
10065 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
10066 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
10067 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
10069 @findex gnus-pick-mode
10070 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
10071 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
10072 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
10073 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
10074 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
10076 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10081 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10082 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10083 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10084 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10085 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10086 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10087 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10088 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10091 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10092 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10093 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10094 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10098 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10099 Unpick the thread or article
10100 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10101 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10102 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10103 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10104 the thread or article at that line.
10108 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10109 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10110 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10111 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10112 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10113 will still be visible when you are reading.
10117 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10118 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10119 which is mapped to the same function
10120 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10122 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10125 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10128 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10129 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10131 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10132 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10133 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10135 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10136 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10137 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10138 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10139 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10140 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10141 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10144 @node Binary Groups
10145 @subsection Binary Groups
10146 @cindex binary groups
10148 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10149 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10150 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10151 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10152 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10153 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10154 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10157 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10158 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10159 command, when you have turned on this mode
10160 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10162 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10163 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10167 @section Tree Display
10170 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10171 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10172 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10173 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10174 in the tree buffer.
10176 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10179 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10180 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10181 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10183 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10184 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10185 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10186 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10187 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10189 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10190 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10191 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10192 default is @code{modeline}.
10194 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10195 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10196 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10197 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10198 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10199 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10200 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10206 The name of the poster.
10208 The @code{From} header.
10210 The number of the article.
10212 The opening bracket.
10214 The closing bracket.
10219 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10221 Variables related to the display are:
10224 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10225 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10226 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10227 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10229 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10230 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10231 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10233 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10235 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10236 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10237 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10238 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10242 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10243 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10244 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10245 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10246 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10247 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10248 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10249 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10250 other windows displayed next to it.
10252 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10256 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10257 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10260 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10261 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10262 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10263 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10264 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10265 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10266 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10270 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10273 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10283 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10288 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10289 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10291 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10293 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10299 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10300 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10301 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10304 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10305 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10306 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10307 (gnus-add-configuration
10311 (summary 0.75 point)
10316 @xref{Window Layout}.
10319 @node Mail Group Commands
10320 @section Mail Group Commands
10321 @cindex mail group commands
10323 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10324 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10326 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10327 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10332 @kindex B e (Summary)
10333 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10334 @cindex expiring mail
10335 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10336 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10337 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10338 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10341 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10342 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10343 @cindex expiring mail
10344 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10345 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10346 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10347 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10350 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10351 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10352 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10353 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10354 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10355 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10358 @kindex B m (Summary)
10360 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10361 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10362 Move the article from one mail group to another
10363 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10364 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10367 @kindex B c (Summary)
10369 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10370 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10371 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10372 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10373 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10376 @kindex B B (Summary)
10377 @cindex crosspost mail
10378 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10379 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10380 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10381 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10382 be properly updated.
10385 @kindex B i (Summary)
10386 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10387 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10388 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10389 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10392 @kindex B I (Summary)
10393 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10394 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10395 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10396 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10399 @kindex B r (Summary)
10400 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10401 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10402 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10403 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10404 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10405 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10406 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10407 (which is the default).
10411 @kindex B w (Summary)
10412 @kindex e (Summary)
10413 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10414 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10415 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10416 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10417 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10418 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10419 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10422 @kindex B q (Summary)
10423 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10424 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10425 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10426 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10429 @kindex B t (Summary)
10430 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10431 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10432 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10435 @kindex B p (Summary)
10436 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10437 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10438 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10439 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10440 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10441 article from your news server (or rather, from
10442 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10443 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10444 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10445 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10446 just not have arrived yet.
10449 @kindex K E (Summary)
10450 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10451 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10452 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10453 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10454 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10458 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10459 @cindex moving articles
10460 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10461 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10462 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10463 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10464 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10465 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10466 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10469 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10470 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10471 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10472 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10476 @node Various Summary Stuff
10477 @section Various Summary Stuff
10480 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10481 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10482 * Summary Generation Commands::
10483 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10487 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10488 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10489 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10490 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10491 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10492 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10494 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10495 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10496 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10499 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10500 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10501 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10503 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10504 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10505 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10506 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10507 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10508 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10511 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10512 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10513 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10514 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10515 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10517 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10518 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10519 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10522 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10523 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10524 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10525 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10526 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10527 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10528 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10529 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10530 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10531 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10533 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10534 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10535 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10536 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10537 list of articles to be selected.
10539 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10540 the list in one particular group:
10543 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10544 (if (string= group "some.group")
10545 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10549 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10550 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10551 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10552 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10553 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10556 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10557 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10558 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10559 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10560 variable will be used instead.
10562 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10563 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10564 buffers. For example:
10567 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10568 '(message-use-followup-to
10569 (gnus-visible-headers .
10570 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10573 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10577 @node Summary Group Information
10578 @subsection Summary Group Information
10583 @kindex H f (Summary)
10584 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10585 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10586 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10587 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10588 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10589 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10590 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10591 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10592 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10595 @kindex H d (Summary)
10596 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10597 Give a brief description of the current group
10598 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10599 rereading the description from the server.
10602 @kindex H h (Summary)
10603 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10604 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10605 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10608 @kindex H i (Summary)
10609 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10610 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10614 @node Searching for Articles
10615 @subsection Searching for Articles
10620 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10621 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10622 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10623 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10626 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10627 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10628 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10629 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10632 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10633 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10634 Repeat the previous search forwards
10635 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10638 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10639 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10640 Repeat the previous search backwards
10641 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10644 @kindex & (Summary)
10645 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10646 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10647 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10648 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10649 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10650 search backward instead.
10652 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10653 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10656 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10657 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10658 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10659 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10662 @node Summary Generation Commands
10663 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10668 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10669 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10670 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10673 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10674 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10675 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10676 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10679 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10680 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10681 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10682 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10685 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10686 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10687 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10688 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10693 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10694 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10700 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10701 @kindex A D (Summary)
10702 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10703 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10704 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10705 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10706 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10707 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10708 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10709 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10712 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
10713 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
10714 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
10719 Select the next article.
10722 Select the next unread article.
10724 @item next-noselect
10725 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
10727 @item next-unread-noselect
10728 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
10731 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
10732 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
10735 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10736 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10737 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10738 several documents into one biiig group
10739 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10740 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10741 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10742 command understands the process/prefix convention
10743 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10746 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10747 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10748 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10749 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10750 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10751 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10754 @kindex = (Summary)
10755 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10756 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10757 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10760 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10761 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10762 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10763 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10766 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10767 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10768 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10769 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10774 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10775 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10776 @cindex summary exit
10777 @cindex exiting groups
10779 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10780 group and return you to the group buffer.
10787 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10788 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10789 @kindex q (Summary)
10790 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10791 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10792 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10793 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10794 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10795 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10796 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10797 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10798 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10799 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10800 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10801 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10805 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10806 @kindex Q (Summary)
10807 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10808 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10809 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10813 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10814 @kindex c (Summary)
10815 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10816 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10817 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10818 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10821 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10822 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10823 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10824 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10827 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10828 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10829 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10830 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10833 @kindex Z p (Summary)
10834 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
10835 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
10836 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
10840 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10841 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10842 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10843 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10844 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10845 all articles, both read and unread.
10849 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10850 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10851 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10852 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10853 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10854 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10855 articles, both read and unread.
10858 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10859 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10860 Exit the group and go to the next group
10861 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10864 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10865 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10866 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10867 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10870 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10871 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10872 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10873 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10874 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10875 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10878 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10879 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10880 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10881 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10883 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10884 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10885 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10886 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10887 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10888 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10889 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10890 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10891 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10892 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10893 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10894 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10896 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10898 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10899 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10900 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10901 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10902 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10903 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10904 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10905 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10906 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10909 @node Crosspost Handling
10910 @section Crosspost Handling
10914 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10915 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10916 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10917 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10918 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10919 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10922 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10923 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10924 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10925 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10926 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10928 @cindex cross-posting
10930 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10931 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10932 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10933 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10934 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10935 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10936 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10937 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10938 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10939 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10940 the cross reference mechanism.
10942 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10943 @cindex overview.fmt
10944 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10945 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10946 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10947 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10948 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10949 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10952 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10953 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10954 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10959 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10962 @node Duplicate Suppression
10963 @section Duplicate Suppression
10965 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10966 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10967 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10968 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10973 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10974 is evil and not very common.
10977 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10978 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10981 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10982 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10985 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10988 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10989 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10991 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10992 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10993 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10994 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10995 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10996 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10997 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11000 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11001 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11002 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11003 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11004 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11005 saw the article in.
11008 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11009 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11010 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11012 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11013 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11014 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11015 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11016 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11017 session are suppressed.
11019 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11020 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11021 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11022 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11024 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11025 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11026 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11027 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11030 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11031 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11032 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11033 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11034 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11035 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11036 to you to figure out, I think.
11041 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11042 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11043 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11048 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11049 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
11050 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
11051 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
11054 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11055 or newer is recommended.
11059 The variables that control security functionality on reading messages
11063 @item mm-verify-option
11064 @vindex mm-verify-option
11065 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
11066 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
11067 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11069 @item mm-decrypt-option
11070 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
11071 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
11072 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
11073 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11076 @vindex mml1991-use
11077 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11078 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
11079 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
11083 @vindex mml2015-use
11084 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11085 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
11086 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
11091 By default the buttons that display security information are not
11092 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
11093 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
11094 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
11095 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
11096 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
11097 how to customize these variables to always display security
11100 @cindex snarfing keys
11101 @cindex importing PGP keys
11102 @cindex PGP key ring import
11103 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11104 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11105 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11106 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11107 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11108 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11109 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11110 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11111 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11114 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11117 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11118 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11120 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11121 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11122 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11125 @section Mailing List
11126 @cindex mailing list
11129 @kindex A M (summary)
11130 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11131 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11132 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11133 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11136 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11141 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11142 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11143 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11146 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11147 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11148 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11151 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11152 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11153 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11157 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11158 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11159 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11162 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11163 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11164 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11167 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11168 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11169 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11174 @node Article Buffer
11175 @chapter Article Buffer
11176 @cindex article buffer
11178 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11179 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11180 tell Gnus otherwise.
11183 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11184 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11185 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11186 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11187 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11191 @node Hiding Headers
11192 @section Hiding Headers
11193 @cindex hiding headers
11194 @cindex deleting headers
11196 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11197 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11199 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11200 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11201 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11202 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11203 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11204 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11205 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11206 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11207 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11209 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11213 @item gnus-visible-headers
11214 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11215 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11216 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11217 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11219 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11220 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11223 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11226 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11229 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11230 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11231 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11232 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11233 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11234 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11236 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11237 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11240 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11243 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11246 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11247 variable will have no effect.
11251 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11252 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11253 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11254 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11255 the headers are to be displayed.
11257 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11258 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11261 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11264 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11265 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11267 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11268 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11269 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11270 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11271 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11272 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11273 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11276 These conditions are:
11279 Remove all empty headers.
11281 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11282 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11284 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11285 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11288 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11291 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11292 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11294 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11295 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11297 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11298 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11300 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11303 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11305 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11308 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11311 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11312 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11315 This is also the default value for this variable.
11319 @section Using MIME
11320 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11322 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11323 while people stand around yawning.
11325 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11326 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11328 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11329 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11330 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11332 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11333 @findex gnus-display-mime
11334 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11335 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11336 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11337 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11339 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11340 @acronym{MIME} button:
11343 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11344 @item RET (Article)
11345 @kindex RET (Article)
11346 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11347 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11348 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11349 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11350 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11351 object is displayed inline.
11353 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11354 @item M-RET (Article)
11355 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11357 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11358 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11360 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11362 @kindex t (Article)
11363 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11364 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11366 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11368 @kindex C (Article)
11369 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11370 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11372 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11374 @kindex o (Article)
11375 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11376 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11378 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11379 @item C-o (Article)
11380 @kindex C-o (Article)
11381 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11382 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11383 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11384 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11385 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11386 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11388 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11390 @kindex r (Article)
11391 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11392 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11393 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11395 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11397 @kindex d (Article)
11398 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11399 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11400 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11402 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11404 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11406 @kindex c (Article)
11407 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11408 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11409 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11410 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11411 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11412 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11413 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11414 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11416 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11418 @kindex p (Article)
11419 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11420 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11421 @file{.mailcap} file.
11423 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11425 @kindex i (Article)
11426 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11427 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
11428 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11429 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11430 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11431 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11432 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11433 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11434 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11436 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11438 @kindex E (Article)
11439 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11440 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11441 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11443 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11445 @kindex e (Article)
11446 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11447 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11449 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11451 @kindex | (Article)
11452 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11454 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11456 @kindex . (Article)
11457 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11458 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11462 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11463 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11464 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11466 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11467 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11468 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11469 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11470 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11471 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11472 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11473 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11474 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11476 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11478 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11481 @node Customizing Articles
11482 @section Customizing Articles
11483 @cindex article customization
11485 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11486 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11487 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11488 called automatically when you select the articles.
11490 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11491 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11492 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11493 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11495 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11496 for sensible values.
11500 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11503 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11506 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11509 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11512 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11515 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11519 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11520 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11521 regexps in the list.
11524 A list where the first element is not a string:
11526 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11527 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11528 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11532 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11537 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11538 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11539 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11540 considered to contain just a single part.
11542 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11543 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11544 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11545 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11546 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11547 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11548 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11551 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11552 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11554 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11555 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11556 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11557 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11558 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11559 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11560 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11561 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11562 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11563 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11564 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11565 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11566 @vindex gnus-treat-date-english
11567 @vindex gnus-treat-date-iso8601
11568 @vindex gnus-treat-date-lapsed
11569 @vindex gnus-treat-date-local
11570 @vindex gnus-treat-date-original
11571 @vindex gnus-treat-date-user-defined
11572 @vindex gnus-treat-date-ut
11573 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11574 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11575 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11576 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11577 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11578 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11579 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11580 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11581 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11582 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11583 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11584 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11585 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11586 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11587 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11588 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11589 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11590 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11591 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11592 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11593 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11594 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11595 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11596 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11597 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11598 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11599 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11602 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11603 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11604 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11605 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11608 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11609 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11611 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11613 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11614 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11615 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11616 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11617 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11618 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11619 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11620 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11621 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11622 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11624 @xref{Article Washing}.
11626 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11627 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11628 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11629 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11630 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11631 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11632 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11634 @xref{Article Date}.
11636 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11637 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11638 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11642 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11644 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11646 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11647 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11648 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11652 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11653 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11657 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11658 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11662 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11663 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11664 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11665 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11666 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11667 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11668 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11669 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11670 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11671 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11672 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11673 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11674 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11675 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11676 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11677 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11678 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11679 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11680 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11681 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11683 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11685 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11686 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11687 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11688 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11689 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11690 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11692 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11694 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11695 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11696 @vindex gnus-treat-translate
11697 @item gnus-treat-translate
11698 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11699 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11700 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11702 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11703 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11704 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11705 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11706 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11707 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11708 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11709 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11711 @xref{Article Header}.
11716 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11717 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11718 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11719 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11720 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11724 @node Article Keymap
11725 @section Article Keymap
11727 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11728 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11729 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11730 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11733 @kindex v (Article)
11734 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
11735 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
11736 command or better use it as a prefix key.
11738 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11743 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11744 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11745 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11746 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11749 @kindex DEL (Article)
11750 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11751 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11752 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11755 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11756 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11757 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11758 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11759 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11762 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11763 @findex gnus-article-mail
11764 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11765 given a prefix, include the mail.
11768 @kindex s (Article)
11769 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11770 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11771 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11774 @kindex ? (Article)
11775 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11776 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11777 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11780 @kindex TAB (Article)
11781 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11782 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11783 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11786 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11787 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11788 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11791 @kindex R (Article)
11792 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11793 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11794 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11795 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11799 @kindex F (Article)
11800 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11801 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11802 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11803 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11811 @section Misc Article
11815 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11816 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11817 @cindex article buffers, several
11818 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11819 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11822 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11823 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11824 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11825 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11826 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11828 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11829 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11830 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11831 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11832 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11833 the contents of the article buffer.
11835 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11836 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11837 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11839 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11840 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11841 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11842 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11844 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11845 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11846 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11847 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11849 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11850 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11851 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11852 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11853 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11854 with two extensions:
11859 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11860 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11861 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11866 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11869 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11872 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11873 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11874 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11877 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11880 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11883 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11888 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11892 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11894 @item gnus-break-pages
11895 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11896 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11897 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11898 paging will not be done.
11900 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11901 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11902 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11906 @cindex internationalized domain names
11907 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11908 @item gnus-use-idna
11909 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11910 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11911 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
11912 for how to compose such messages. This requires
11913 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11914 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11919 @node Composing Messages
11920 @chapter Composing Messages
11921 @cindex composing messages
11924 @cindex sending mail
11929 @cindex using s/mime
11930 @cindex using smime
11932 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11933 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11934 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11935 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11936 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11937 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11940 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11941 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11942 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11943 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11944 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11945 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11946 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11947 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11948 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11951 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11952 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11958 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11961 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11962 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11963 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11964 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11965 @code{nil} include all headers.
11967 @item gnus-add-to-list
11968 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11969 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11970 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11972 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11973 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11974 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
11975 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
11976 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
11977 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
11978 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
11979 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
11981 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11982 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
11984 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11985 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11986 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11987 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11988 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11993 @node Posting Server
11994 @section Posting Server
11996 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11997 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11999 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
12001 It can be quite complicated.
12003 @vindex gnus-post-method
12004 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
12005 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
12006 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
12007 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
12008 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
12009 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
12010 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
12011 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
12012 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
12015 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
12018 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
12019 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
12020 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
12021 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
12023 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
12024 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
12026 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
12027 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
12030 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
12031 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
12033 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
12034 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
12035 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
12036 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
12037 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
12038 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
12039 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
12040 package correctly. An example:
12043 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
12044 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
12047 To the thing similar to this, there is
12048 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
12049 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
12050 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
12052 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
12053 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
12054 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
12056 @node POP before SMTP
12057 @section POP before SMTP
12058 @cindex pop before smtp
12059 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
12060 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
12062 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
12063 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
12064 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
12065 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
12066 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12069 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
12070 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
12074 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
12075 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
12076 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
12077 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
12078 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
12079 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
12080 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
12081 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
12083 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
12084 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
12085 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
12086 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
12087 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
12088 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
12091 (setq mail-source-primary-source
12092 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12093 :password "secret"))
12097 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
12098 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
12101 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12103 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12104 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12105 :password "secret")))
12106 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12109 @node Mail and Post
12110 @section Mail and Post
12112 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12116 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12117 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12118 @cindex mailing lists
12120 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12121 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12122 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12123 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12124 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12125 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12126 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12127 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12128 still a pain, though.
12130 @item gnus-user-agent
12131 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12134 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12135 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12136 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12137 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12138 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12139 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12140 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12144 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12145 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12146 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12149 @findex ispell-message
12151 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12154 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12155 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12158 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12162 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12163 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12165 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12168 Modify to suit your needs.
12170 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12171 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12172 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12175 @node Archived Messages
12176 @section Archived Messages
12177 @cindex archived messages
12178 @cindex sent messages
12180 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12181 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12182 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12183 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12186 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12187 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12190 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12191 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12192 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
12193 actually being used it is expanded into:
12196 (nnfolder "archive"
12197 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12198 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12199 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12200 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12204 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
12205 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
12206 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
12207 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
12208 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
12209 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
12210 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12211 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
12212 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
12213 saved method to reflect always the value of
12214 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
12215 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
12216 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
12219 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12220 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12221 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12222 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12225 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12226 '(nnfolder "archive"
12227 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12228 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12229 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12232 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12234 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12235 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12236 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12238 This variable can be used to do the following:
12242 Messages will be saved in that group.
12244 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12245 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12246 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12247 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12248 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12249 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12250 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12251 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12254 @item a list of strings
12255 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12257 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12258 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12261 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
12266 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12268 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12271 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12273 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12276 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12278 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12279 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12280 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12281 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12284 More complex stuff:
12286 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12287 '((if (message-news-p)
12292 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12293 messages in one file per month:
12296 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12297 '((if (message-news-p)
12299 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12302 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
12303 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
12305 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12306 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12307 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12308 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12309 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12310 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12311 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12312 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12313 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12314 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12316 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
12317 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
12318 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
12319 this will disable archiving.
12322 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
12323 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
12324 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
12325 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
12326 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
12329 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
12330 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
12331 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
12334 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
12335 but the latter is the preferred method.
12337 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12338 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12339 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12341 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12342 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12343 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12344 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12345 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12346 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12347 changed in the future.
12352 @node Posting Styles
12353 @section Posting Styles
12354 @cindex posting styles
12357 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12359 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12360 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12361 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12364 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12365 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12366 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12367 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12368 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12373 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12374 (organization "What me?"))
12376 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12377 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12378 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12381 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12382 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12383 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12384 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12385 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12386 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12387 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12388 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12390 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12391 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12392 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12393 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12394 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12395 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12396 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12397 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12398 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12399 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12400 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12401 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12402 said to @dfn{match}.
12404 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12405 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12406 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12407 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12408 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12409 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12410 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12411 name can be one of:
12414 @item @code{signature}
12415 @item @code{signature-file}
12416 @item @code{x-face-file}
12417 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12418 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12422 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12423 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12425 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12426 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12427 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12428 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12429 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12431 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
12432 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
12433 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
12434 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12435 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
12436 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
12437 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
12438 references chars lines xref extra.
12440 @vindex message-reply-headers
12442 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12443 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12444 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12446 @findex message-mail-p
12447 @findex message-news-p
12449 So here's a new example:
12452 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12454 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12456 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12457 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12458 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12460 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12461 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12462 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12463 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12464 (signature my-news-signature))
12465 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12466 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12467 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12468 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12469 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12470 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12471 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12472 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12473 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12474 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12476 (From (save-excursion
12477 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
12478 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12480 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12483 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12484 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12485 if you fill many roles.
12486 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12487 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12493 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12494 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12495 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12496 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12497 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12499 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12500 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12501 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12502 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12503 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12507 @vindex nndraft-directory
12508 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12509 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12510 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12511 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12512 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12513 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12515 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12516 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12517 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12518 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12519 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12520 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12521 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12522 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12523 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12525 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12526 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12527 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12528 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12529 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12530 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12531 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12532 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12533 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12534 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12535 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12536 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12537 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12538 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12540 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12541 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12542 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12544 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12545 @kindex D e (Draft)
12546 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12547 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12548 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12550 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12553 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12554 @kindex D s (Draft)
12555 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12556 @kindex D S (Draft)
12557 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12558 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12559 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12560 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12561 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12564 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12565 @kindex D t (Draft)
12566 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12567 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12568 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12571 @node Rejected Articles
12572 @section Rejected Articles
12573 @cindex rejected articles
12575 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12576 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12577 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12578 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12580 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12581 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12582 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12583 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12584 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12586 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12587 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12588 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12590 @node Signing and encrypting
12591 @section Signing and encrypting
12593 @cindex using s/mime
12594 @cindex using smime
12596 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12597 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12598 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12599 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12601 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12602 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12603 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12604 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12605 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12606 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12607 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12608 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12609 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12610 automatically encrypted messages.
12612 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12613 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12614 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12619 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12620 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12622 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12625 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12626 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12628 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12631 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12632 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12634 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12637 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12638 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12640 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12643 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12644 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12646 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12649 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12650 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12652 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12655 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12656 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12657 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12661 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12663 @node Select Methods
12664 @chapter Select Methods
12665 @cindex foreign groups
12666 @cindex select methods
12668 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12669 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12670 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12671 personal mail group.
12673 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12674 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12675 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12676 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12677 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12678 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12680 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12681 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12683 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12686 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12687 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12688 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12689 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12690 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12692 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12695 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12696 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12697 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12698 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12699 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12700 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12701 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12702 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
12703 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12707 @node Server Buffer
12708 @section Server Buffer
12710 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12711 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12712 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12713 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12714 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12715 back end represents a virtual server.
12717 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12718 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12719 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12720 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12722 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12723 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12724 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12725 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12726 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12727 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12728 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12730 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12731 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12734 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12735 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12736 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12737 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12738 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12739 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12740 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12743 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12744 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12747 @node Server Buffer Format
12748 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12749 @cindex server buffer format
12751 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12752 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12753 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12754 variable, with some simple extensions:
12759 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12762 The name of this server.
12765 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12768 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12771 Whether this server is agentized.
12774 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12775 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12776 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12777 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12787 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12790 @node Server Commands
12791 @subsection Server Commands
12792 @cindex server commands
12798 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
12799 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12800 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12804 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12805 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12809 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12810 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12813 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12814 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12815 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12819 @findex gnus-server-exit
12820 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12824 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12825 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12829 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12830 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12834 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12835 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12839 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12840 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12844 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12845 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12846 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12851 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12852 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12853 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12854 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12858 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
12860 Compact all groups in the server under point
12861 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
12862 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
12863 hence getting a correct total article count.
12868 @node Example Methods
12869 @subsection Example Methods
12871 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12874 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12877 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12883 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12884 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12887 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12888 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12890 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12891 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12895 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12898 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12899 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12901 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12902 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12903 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12907 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12910 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12913 Here's the method for a public spool:
12917 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12918 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12924 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12925 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12926 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12927 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12928 should probably look something like this:
12932 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12933 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12934 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12935 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12938 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12939 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12940 configuration to the example above:
12943 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12946 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
12947 an indirect connection:
12949 (setq gnus-select-method
12951 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
12952 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
12953 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
12954 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12955 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
12956 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
12957 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)))
12960 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12961 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12962 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12966 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12967 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12968 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12969 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12972 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12973 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12974 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12975 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12978 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12979 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12981 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12982 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12984 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12985 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12986 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12988 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12990 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12991 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12992 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12993 will contain the following:
13003 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
13004 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
13007 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
13008 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
13009 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
13012 @node Server Variables
13013 @subsection Server Variables
13014 @cindex server variables
13015 @cindex server parameters
13017 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
13018 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
13019 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
13020 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
13021 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
13023 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
13024 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
13025 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
13026 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
13027 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
13028 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
13029 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
13030 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
13031 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
13035 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
13036 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
13037 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
13040 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
13042 @node Servers and Methods
13043 @subsection Servers and Methods
13045 Wherever you would normally use a select method
13046 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
13047 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
13048 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
13052 @node Unavailable Servers
13053 @subsection Unavailable Servers
13055 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
13056 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
13057 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
13058 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
13059 actually the case or not.
13061 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
13062 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
13063 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
13064 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
13065 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
13066 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
13067 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
13068 it will regard that server as ``down''.
13070 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
13071 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
13073 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
13074 with the following commands:
13080 @findex gnus-server-open-server
13081 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
13082 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
13086 @findex gnus-server-close-server
13087 Close the connection (if any) to the server
13088 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
13092 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
13093 Mark the current server as unreachable
13094 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
13097 @kindex M-o (Server)
13098 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
13099 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
13100 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
13103 @kindex M-c (Server)
13104 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
13105 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
13106 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
13110 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
13111 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
13112 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
13116 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
13117 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13123 @section Getting News
13124 @cindex reading news
13125 @cindex news back ends
13127 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13128 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13129 or it can read from a local spool.
13132 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13133 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13141 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13142 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13143 server as the, uhm, address.
13145 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13146 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13147 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13148 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13150 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13151 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13152 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13154 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13159 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13160 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13161 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13163 @cindex authentication
13164 @cindex nntp authentication
13165 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13166 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13167 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13168 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13169 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13170 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13171 present in this hook.
13173 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13174 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13175 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13176 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13177 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13178 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13179 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13180 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13181 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13182 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13183 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13184 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13188 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13191 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13193 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13194 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13195 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13196 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13197 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13198 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13199 @samp{force} is explained below.
13203 Here's an example file:
13206 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13207 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13210 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13211 have to be first, for instance.
13213 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13214 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13215 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13216 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13217 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13218 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13219 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13221 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13222 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13228 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13229 previously mentioned.
13231 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13233 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13234 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13235 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13236 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13237 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13240 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13241 '(("innd" (ding))))
13244 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13246 The default value is
13249 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13250 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13251 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13254 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13255 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13257 @item nntp-maximum-request
13258 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13259 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13260 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13261 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13262 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13263 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13264 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13266 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13267 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13268 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13269 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13270 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13271 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13272 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13273 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13274 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13275 no timeouts are done.
13277 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13278 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13279 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13280 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13283 @item nntp-xover-commands
13284 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13285 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13287 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13288 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13292 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13293 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13294 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13295 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13296 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13297 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13298 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13299 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13300 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13301 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13302 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13304 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13305 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13306 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
13307 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
13308 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
13309 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
13310 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
13311 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
13312 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
13313 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
13314 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
13315 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
13316 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
13317 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
13318 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
13319 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
13320 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
13323 (setq gnus-select-method
13325 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
13326 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
13330 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
13332 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13333 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13334 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13336 @item nntp-record-commands
13337 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13338 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13339 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13340 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13341 that doesn't seem to work.
13343 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13344 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13345 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13346 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13347 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13348 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13349 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13350 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13352 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13353 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13354 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13355 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13356 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13357 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13358 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13359 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13360 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13362 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13363 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13364 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13365 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13366 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13367 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13368 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13370 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13371 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13372 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13373 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13374 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13375 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13376 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13379 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13382 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13383 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13388 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13389 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13390 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13391 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13395 @node Direct Functions
13396 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13397 @cindex direct connection functions
13399 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13400 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13401 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13402 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13405 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13406 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13407 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13410 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13411 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13412 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13413 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
13414 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13417 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13418 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13420 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13421 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13422 (nntp-port-number )
13423 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13426 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13427 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13428 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13429 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13430 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13431 then define a server as follows:
13434 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13435 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13437 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13438 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13439 (nntp-port-number 563)
13440 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13443 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13444 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13445 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
13446 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
13447 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13448 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13449 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13450 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13454 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13455 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13456 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13459 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13460 session, which is not a good idea.
13464 @node Indirect Functions
13465 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13466 @cindex indirect connection functions
13468 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13469 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13470 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13471 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13472 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13473 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13476 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13477 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13478 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
13479 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13480 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13482 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13485 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13486 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13487 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13488 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13490 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13491 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13492 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13493 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13494 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13495 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
13496 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13497 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13501 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13502 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13504 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13505 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13506 Does essentially the same, but uses
13507 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} instead of @samp{telnet}
13508 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13510 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13513 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
13514 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
13515 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13516 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
13517 programs like @uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html,
13520 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
13521 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
13522 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13523 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
13525 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13526 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13527 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13528 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13530 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13531 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13532 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13533 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
13536 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13537 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13538 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13539 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13541 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13544 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13545 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13546 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13549 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13550 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13551 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13552 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13554 @item nntp-via-user-password
13555 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13556 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13558 @item nntp-via-envuser
13559 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13560 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13561 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13562 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13564 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13565 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13566 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13567 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13571 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13572 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13576 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13581 @item nntp-via-user-name
13582 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13583 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13585 @item nntp-via-address
13586 @vindex nntp-via-address
13587 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13592 @node Common Variables
13593 @subsubsection Common Variables
13595 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13596 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13597 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13598 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13599 variables individually).
13603 @item nntp-pre-command
13604 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13605 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13606 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13607 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13608 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13611 @vindex nntp-address
13612 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13614 @item nntp-port-number
13615 @vindex nntp-port-number
13616 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13617 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13618 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13619 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13620 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13621 not work with named ports.
13623 @item nntp-end-of-line
13624 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13625 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13626 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13627 using a non native telnet connection function.
13629 @item nntp-telnet-command
13630 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13631 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13632 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13633 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13636 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13637 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13638 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13644 @subsubsection NNTP marks
13645 @cindex storing NNTP marks
13647 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
13648 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
13649 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
13650 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
13651 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
13652 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
13653 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
13654 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
13656 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
13657 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
13658 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
13659 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
13660 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13662 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
13663 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
13664 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
13665 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
13666 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
13667 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
13668 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
13670 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
13671 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
13672 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
13678 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
13679 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
13680 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
13681 default is @code{nil}.
13683 @item nntp-marks-directory
13684 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
13685 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
13691 @subsection News Spool
13695 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13696 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13697 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13700 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13701 anything else) as the address.
13703 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13704 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13705 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13706 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13710 @item nnspool-inews-program
13711 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13712 Program used to post an article.
13714 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13715 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13716 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13718 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13719 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13720 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13721 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13723 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13724 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13725 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13726 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13728 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13729 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13730 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13732 @item nnspool-active-file
13733 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13734 The name of the active file.
13736 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13737 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13738 The name of the group descriptions file.
13740 @item nnspool-history-file
13741 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13742 The name of the news history file.
13744 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13745 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13746 The name of the active date file.
13748 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13749 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13750 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13753 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13754 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13756 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13757 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13758 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13765 @section Getting Mail
13766 @cindex reading mail
13769 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13773 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13774 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13775 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13776 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13777 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13778 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13779 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13780 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13781 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13782 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13783 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13784 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13785 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13789 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13790 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13792 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13793 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13794 of a culture shock.
13796 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13797 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13799 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13800 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13801 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13802 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13804 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13806 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13807 deleted? How awful!
13809 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13810 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13811 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13812 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13815 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13816 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13817 they want to treat a message.
13819 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13820 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13821 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13822 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13823 archived somewhere else.
13825 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13826 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13827 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13828 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13829 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13831 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13832 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13833 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13835 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13836 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13839 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13840 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13841 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13842 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13843 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13845 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13846 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13847 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13848 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13849 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13850 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13854 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13855 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13857 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13858 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13859 and things will happen automatically.
13861 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13862 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13865 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13868 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13869 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13870 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13871 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13872 like any other group.
13874 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13877 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13878 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13879 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13883 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13884 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13885 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13888 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13889 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13890 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13893 @node Splitting Mail
13894 @subsection Splitting Mail
13895 @cindex splitting mail
13896 @cindex mail splitting
13897 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13899 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13900 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13901 to be split into groups.
13904 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13905 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13906 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13907 ("mail.other" "")))
13910 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13911 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13912 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13913 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13914 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13915 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13916 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13919 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13923 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
13924 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13926 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13927 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13928 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13929 mail belongs in that group.
13931 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
13932 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13933 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
13934 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13935 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
13936 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
13937 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
13938 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
13939 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
13940 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
13942 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13943 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13944 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13945 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13946 thinks should carry this mail message.
13948 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13949 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13950 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13951 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13953 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13954 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13955 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13956 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13957 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
13959 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13962 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13963 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13964 links. If that's the case for you, set
13965 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13966 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13968 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13969 @findex nnmail-split-history
13970 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13971 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13972 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13973 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13976 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13977 Header lines longer than the value of
13978 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13981 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13982 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13983 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
13984 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
13985 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
13986 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
13987 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
13988 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
13989 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
13990 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
13991 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
13992 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
13994 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13995 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13996 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13997 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13998 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13999 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
14000 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
14001 other kinds of entries.)
14003 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
14004 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
14005 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
14006 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
14007 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
14008 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
14009 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
14010 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
14011 month's rent money.
14015 @subsection Mail Sources
14017 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
14018 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
14019 maildir, for instance.
14022 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
14023 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
14024 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
14028 @node Mail Source Specifiers
14029 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
14031 @cindex mail server
14034 @cindex mail source
14036 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
14037 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
14042 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
14045 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
14046 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
14047 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
14050 The following mail source types are available:
14054 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
14060 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
14061 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
14062 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
14066 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14069 An example file mail source:
14072 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
14075 Or using the default file name:
14081 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
14082 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
14083 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
14084 mail spool while moving the mail.
14086 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
14090 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
14093 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
14097 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
14100 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
14102 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
14105 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
14106 file you want to use.
14110 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
14111 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
14112 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
14113 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
14114 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
14115 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
14116 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
14117 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
14118 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
14119 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
14121 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14122 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
14123 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
14124 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
14130 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
14134 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
14138 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
14139 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
14140 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
14141 predicate are considered.
14145 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14149 An example directory mail source:
14152 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
14157 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14163 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
14164 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14167 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
14168 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
14169 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
14170 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
14171 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14174 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14178 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14179 the user is prompted.
14182 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14183 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14186 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14189 The valid format specifier characters are:
14193 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14194 included in this string.
14197 The name of the server.
14200 The port number of the server.
14203 The user name to use.
14206 The password to use.
14209 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14210 corresponding keywords.
14213 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14214 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14217 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14218 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14221 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14222 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14223 mail should be moved to.
14225 @item :authentication
14226 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14227 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14232 @vindex pop3-movemail
14233 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14234 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14235 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14236 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14237 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14238 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14239 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14240 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14241 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14243 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14244 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14245 name, and default fetcher:
14251 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14254 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14255 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14258 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14261 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14265 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14266 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14267 contains exactly one mail.
14273 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14274 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14277 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14278 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14280 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14281 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14282 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14285 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14286 from locking problems).
14290 Two example maildir mail sources:
14293 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14294 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14298 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14303 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14304 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14305 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14306 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14307 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
14309 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
14310 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
14316 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14317 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14320 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14321 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14324 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14328 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14332 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14333 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14334 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14335 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14337 @item :authentication
14338 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14339 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14340 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14341 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14344 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14345 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14346 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14352 The valid format specifier characters are:
14356 The name of the server.
14359 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14362 The port number of the server.
14365 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14366 corresponding keywords.
14369 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14370 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
14373 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14374 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14375 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14376 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14377 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14378 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14381 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14382 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14383 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14384 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14387 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14388 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14392 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14395 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14397 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14401 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
14402 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
14403 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
14405 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
14406 required for url "4.0pre.46".
14408 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
14414 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
14415 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
14418 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
14422 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
14426 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
14427 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
14431 An example webmail source:
14434 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
14436 :password "secret")
14441 @item Common Keywords
14442 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14448 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14449 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14454 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14459 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14460 useful when you use local mail and news.
14465 @subsubsection Function Interface
14467 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14468 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14469 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14470 consider the following mail-source setting:
14473 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14474 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14477 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14478 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14479 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14480 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14481 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14483 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14486 @node Mail Source Customization
14487 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14489 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14490 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14494 @item mail-source-crash-box
14495 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14496 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14497 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14499 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14500 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14501 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14502 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14503 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14504 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
14505 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
14506 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
14508 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14509 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
14510 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
14511 files. This variable only applies when
14512 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
14514 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
14515 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
14516 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
14518 @item mail-source-directory
14519 @vindex mail-source-directory
14520 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
14521 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
14522 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
14523 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
14525 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14526 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
14527 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
14528 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
14529 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
14530 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
14533 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
14534 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
14535 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
14537 @item mail-source-movemail-program
14538 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
14539 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
14540 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
14545 @node Fetching Mail
14546 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
14548 @vindex mail-sources
14549 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
14550 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
14551 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
14552 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
14554 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
14555 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
14558 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
14559 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
14564 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14565 :password "secret")))
14568 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
14572 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
14573 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
14576 :password "secret")))
14580 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
14581 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
14582 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
14583 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
14584 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
14585 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
14589 @node Mail Back End Variables
14590 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
14592 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
14596 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14597 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
14598 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
14599 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
14601 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
14602 @item nnmail-split-hook
14603 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
14604 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
14605 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
14606 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
14607 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
14608 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
14609 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
14610 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14611 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14614 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14615 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14616 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14617 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14618 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14619 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14620 starting to handle the new mail) and
14621 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14622 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14623 default file modes the new mail files get:
14626 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14627 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14629 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14630 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14633 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14634 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14635 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14636 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14637 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14638 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14639 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14641 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14642 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14643 @findex delete-file
14644 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14646 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14647 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14648 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14649 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14650 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14652 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14653 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14654 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14655 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14656 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14658 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14659 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14660 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14665 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14666 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14667 @cindex mail splitting
14668 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14670 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14671 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14672 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14673 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14674 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14675 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14677 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14680 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14681 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14682 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14683 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14685 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14686 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14687 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14688 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14689 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14690 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14691 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14692 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14693 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14694 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14695 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14696 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14697 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14698 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14699 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14700 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14701 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14705 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14706 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14707 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14712 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14713 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14715 @c Don't fold this line.
14716 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
14717 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
14718 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
14719 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
14722 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
14723 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
14724 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
14725 @var{split} is processed.
14727 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
14728 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
14729 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
14730 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14732 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14733 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14734 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14735 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14736 stored in one or more groups.
14738 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14739 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14740 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14743 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14744 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14746 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14747 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14748 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14749 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14752 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14753 body of the messages:
14756 (defun split-on-body ()
14760 (goto-char (point-min))
14761 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14765 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14766 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14767 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14768 above. Also note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will
14769 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14770 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14771 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14773 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14774 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14775 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14776 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14777 should return a split.
14780 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14784 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14786 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
14787 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
14788 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
14789 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
14793 (any "joe" "joemail")
14797 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
14798 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
14799 of the following three ways:
14803 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14804 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
14805 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
14806 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
14807 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
14810 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
14813 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
14814 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
14815 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
14816 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
14817 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
14820 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
14821 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
14822 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
14823 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14824 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
14825 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
14826 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
14829 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14830 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14831 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14832 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14833 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14834 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14835 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14839 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14841 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14842 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14844 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14847 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14848 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14849 when all this splitting is performed.
14851 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14852 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14853 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14856 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14859 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14860 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14862 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14863 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14864 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14865 groupings 1 through 9.
14867 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
14868 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
14869 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
14870 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
14871 groups when users send to an address using different case
14872 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
14875 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14876 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14877 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14878 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14879 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14880 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14881 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14882 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14883 it once per thread.
14885 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14886 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14887 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14888 using the colon feature, like so:
14890 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14891 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14893 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14894 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14898 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14899 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14900 in the file specified by the variable
14901 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14902 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14903 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14904 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14905 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14906 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14907 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14908 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14909 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14910 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14911 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14912 300 kBytes in size.)
14913 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14914 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14915 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14916 messages goes into the new group.
14918 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14919 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14920 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14921 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14922 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14923 ``outgoing'' group.
14926 @node Group Mail Splitting
14927 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14928 @cindex mail splitting
14929 @cindex group mail splitting
14931 @findex gnus-group-split
14932 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14933 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14934 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14935 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14936 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14937 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14938 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14939 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14941 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14942 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14943 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14944 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14946 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14947 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14948 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14949 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14950 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14951 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14952 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14954 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14955 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14956 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14957 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14958 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14959 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14960 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14962 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14963 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14964 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14965 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14966 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14967 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14968 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14969 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14970 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14971 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14972 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14973 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14974 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14976 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14981 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14982 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14984 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14985 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14986 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14987 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14989 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14992 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14993 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14994 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14997 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14998 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14999 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
15003 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
15004 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
15005 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15009 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
15012 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
15013 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
15014 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
15015 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
15016 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
15017 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
15018 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
15019 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
15020 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
15022 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
15023 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
15024 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
15025 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
15026 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
15027 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
15028 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
15029 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
15030 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
15032 @findex gnus-group-split-update
15033 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
15034 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
15035 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
15036 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
15037 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
15040 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
15043 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
15044 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
15045 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
15046 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
15047 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
15050 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
15051 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
15052 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
15053 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
15055 @node Incorporating Old Mail
15056 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
15057 @cindex incorporating old mail
15058 @cindex import old mail
15060 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
15061 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
15062 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
15065 Doing so can be quite easy.
15067 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
15068 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
15069 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
15070 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
15071 your @code{nnml} groups.
15077 Go to the group buffer.
15080 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
15081 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15084 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
15087 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
15088 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15091 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
15092 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
15095 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
15096 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
15097 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
15098 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
15099 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
15101 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
15102 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
15103 using the new mail back end.
15106 @node Expiring Mail
15107 @subsection Expiring Mail
15108 @cindex article expiry
15109 @cindex expiring mail
15111 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
15112 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
15113 different approach to mail reading.
15115 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
15116 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
15117 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
15118 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
15119 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
15120 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
15123 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
15124 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
15125 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
15126 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
15127 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
15128 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
15129 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
15130 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
15131 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
15133 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
15134 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
15135 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
15136 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
15137 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
15138 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
15139 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
15142 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
15143 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
15144 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
15145 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
15146 into its own group.)
15148 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
15149 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
15150 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
15151 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15152 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15153 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15154 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15155 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15158 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15159 Groups that match the regular expression
15160 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15161 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15162 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15164 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15165 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15166 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15167 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15168 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15170 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15172 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15173 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15174 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15177 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15178 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15179 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15180 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15181 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15183 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15184 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15187 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15188 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15191 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15192 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15194 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15195 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15196 don't really mix very well.
15198 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15199 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15200 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15201 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15204 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15205 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15206 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15207 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15210 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15212 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15214 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15216 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15218 ((string= group "important")
15224 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15225 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15227 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15228 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15229 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15232 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15233 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15235 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15236 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15237 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15238 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15239 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15240 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15241 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15242 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15243 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15244 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15245 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15246 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15247 name or @code{delete}.
15249 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15251 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15254 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15255 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15256 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15257 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15258 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15261 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15262 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15263 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15264 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15265 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15268 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15269 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15270 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15271 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15272 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15273 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15275 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15276 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15277 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15278 easier for procmail users.
15280 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15281 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15282 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15283 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15284 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15285 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15286 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15287 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15288 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15289 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15290 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15291 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15292 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15295 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15297 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15298 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15299 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15300 auto-expire turned on.
15304 @subsection Washing Mail
15305 @cindex mail washing
15306 @cindex list server brain damage
15307 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15309 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15310 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15311 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15312 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15313 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15314 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15316 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15317 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15318 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15321 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15322 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15323 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15324 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15327 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15328 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15329 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15330 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15331 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15334 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15335 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15336 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15337 Emacs running on MS machines.
15341 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15342 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15343 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15344 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15347 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15348 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15349 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15350 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15352 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15353 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15354 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15355 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15356 into a feature by documenting it.)
15358 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15359 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15360 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15361 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15362 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15363 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15364 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15367 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15368 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15371 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15372 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15375 This can also be done non-destructively with
15376 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15378 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15379 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15380 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15382 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15383 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15384 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15387 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15388 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15389 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15390 contain a line matching the regular expression
15391 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15395 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15396 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15397 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15401 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15402 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15403 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15410 @subsection Duplicates
15412 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15413 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15414 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15415 @cindex duplicate mails
15416 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15417 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15418 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15419 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15420 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15421 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15422 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15423 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15424 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15425 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15426 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15427 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15428 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15430 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15431 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15432 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15433 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15435 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15438 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15439 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15443 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15444 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15445 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15446 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15447 (any mail "mail.misc")
15448 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15454 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15455 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15456 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15460 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15461 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15462 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15463 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15464 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15467 @node Not Reading Mail
15468 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15470 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15471 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15472 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15474 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15475 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15476 mail, which should help.
15478 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15479 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15480 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15481 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15482 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15483 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
15484 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
15485 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
15486 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
15487 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
15488 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
15490 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
15491 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
15495 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
15496 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
15498 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
15499 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
15500 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
15502 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
15503 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
15504 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
15508 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
15509 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
15510 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
15511 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
15512 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
15513 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
15514 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
15518 @node Unix Mail Box
15519 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
15521 @cindex unix mail box
15523 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15524 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15525 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
15526 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
15527 which group it belongs in.
15529 Virtual server settings:
15532 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
15533 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
15534 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
15537 @item nnmbox-active-file
15538 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
15539 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
15540 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
15542 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
15543 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15544 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
15545 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
15550 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
15554 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15555 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15556 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
15557 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
15558 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
15560 Virtual server settings:
15563 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
15564 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
15565 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
15567 @item nnbabyl-active-file
15568 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
15569 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
15570 @file{~/.rmail-active}
15572 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15573 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15574 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
15580 @subsubsection Mail Spool
15582 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
15584 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
15585 format. It should be used with some caution.
15587 @vindex nnml-directory
15588 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
15589 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
15590 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
15591 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
15593 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
15596 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
15597 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
15598 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
15599 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
15600 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
15601 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
15602 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
15603 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
15605 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
15606 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
15607 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
15608 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
15610 @cindex self contained nnml servers
15612 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
15613 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15614 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15615 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
15616 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
15617 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
15618 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
15619 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
15622 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
15623 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
15624 them next time it starts.
15626 Virtual server settings:
15629 @item nnml-directory
15630 @vindex nnml-directory
15631 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
15632 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
15635 @item nnml-active-file
15636 @vindex nnml-active-file
15637 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
15638 @file{~/Mail/active}.
15640 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
15641 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
15642 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15643 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
15645 @item nnml-get-new-mail
15646 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15647 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
15650 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
15651 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
15652 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15653 default is @code{nil}.
15655 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15656 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15657 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15659 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15660 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15661 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15663 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15664 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15665 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15666 default is @code{nil}.
15668 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15669 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15670 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15672 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15673 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15674 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15675 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
15676 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
15677 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
15678 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
15679 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
15680 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
15682 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15683 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
15684 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
15685 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
15686 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
15690 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15691 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15692 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15693 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15694 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15695 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15696 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15701 @subsubsection MH Spool
15703 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15705 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15706 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15707 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15708 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15711 Virtual server settings:
15714 @item nnmh-directory
15715 @vindex nnmh-directory
15716 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15717 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15720 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15721 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15722 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15726 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15727 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15728 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15729 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15730 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15731 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15732 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15737 @subsubsection Maildir
15741 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15742 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15743 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15744 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15745 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15748 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15749 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15750 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15751 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15752 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15753 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15754 that appear as group in Gnus.
15756 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15757 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15758 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15760 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15761 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15762 another, and you will keep your marks.
15764 Virtual server settings:
15768 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15769 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15770 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15771 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15772 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15773 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15774 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15775 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15776 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15777 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15779 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15780 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15781 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15782 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15783 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15784 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15785 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15786 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15787 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15788 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15791 @item target-prefix
15792 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15793 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15794 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15797 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15798 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15799 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15800 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15801 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15802 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15803 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15804 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15805 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15807 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15808 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15809 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15810 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15811 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15813 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15814 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15815 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15816 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15817 @code{force} argument.
15819 @item directory-files
15820 This should be a function with the same interface as
15821 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15822 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15823 parameter is optional; the default is
15824 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15825 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15826 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15827 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15828 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15829 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15832 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15833 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15834 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15835 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15836 value is @code{nil}.
15838 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15839 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15840 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15841 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15842 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15845 @subsubsection Group parameters
15847 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15848 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15849 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15850 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15851 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15852 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15855 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15856 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15857 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15858 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15859 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15860 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15861 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15862 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15863 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15867 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15868 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15869 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15870 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15871 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
15872 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
15873 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
15874 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15875 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15876 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15877 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15878 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15879 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15882 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15884 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15886 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15887 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15888 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15889 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15890 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15891 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15892 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15893 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15894 article. So that form can refer to
15895 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15896 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
15897 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15898 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15901 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15902 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15903 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15904 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15905 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15906 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15907 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15908 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15909 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15910 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15911 contain extra copies of the articles.
15913 @item directory-files
15914 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15915 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15916 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15917 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15919 @item distrust-Lines:
15920 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15921 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15922 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15925 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15926 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15927 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15928 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15929 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15930 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15933 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15934 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15935 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15936 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15937 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15938 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15939 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15941 @item nov-cache-size
15942 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15943 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15944 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15945 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15946 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15947 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15948 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15949 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15950 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15951 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15952 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15955 @subsubsection Article identification
15956 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15957 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15958 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15959 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15960 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15961 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15962 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15963 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15964 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15965 request the article in the summary buffer.
15967 @subsubsection NOV data
15968 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15969 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15970 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15971 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15972 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15973 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15974 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15975 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15976 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15977 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15978 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15980 @subsubsection Article marks
15981 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15982 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15983 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15984 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15985 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15986 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15987 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15988 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15990 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15991 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15992 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15993 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15994 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15995 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15996 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15997 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15998 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
16002 @subsubsection Mail Folders
16004 @cindex mbox folders
16005 @cindex mail folders
16007 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
16008 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
16009 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
16010 numbers and arrival dates.
16012 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
16014 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
16015 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16016 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16017 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
16018 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
16019 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
16020 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
16021 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
16022 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
16023 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
16025 Virtual server settings:
16028 @item nnfolder-directory
16029 @vindex nnfolder-directory
16030 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
16031 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
16032 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
16034 @item nnfolder-active-file
16035 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
16036 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
16038 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16039 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16040 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16041 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
16043 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
16044 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16045 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
16046 default is @code{t}
16048 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16049 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16050 @cindex backup files
16051 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
16052 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
16053 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
16054 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
16057 (defun turn-off-backup ()
16058 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
16060 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
16063 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16064 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16065 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
16066 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
16067 extract some information from it before removing it.
16069 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16070 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16071 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16072 default is @code{nil}.
16074 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16075 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16076 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
16078 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
16079 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
16080 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
16081 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16083 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16084 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16085 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16086 default is @code{nil}.
16088 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16089 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16090 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
16092 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
16093 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
16094 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
16095 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16100 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
16101 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
16102 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
16103 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
16104 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
16105 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
16108 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
16109 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
16111 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
16112 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
16113 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
16114 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
16115 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
16117 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
16118 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
16119 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
16120 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
16121 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
16122 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
16123 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
16124 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
16127 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
16128 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
16129 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
16130 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
16135 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
16136 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
16137 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
16138 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
16139 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
16140 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
16141 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
16142 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
16143 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
16144 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
16145 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
16146 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
16147 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16152 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16153 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16154 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16155 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16156 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16157 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16158 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16159 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16160 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16161 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16162 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16163 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16164 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16165 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
16167 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16168 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16173 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16174 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16175 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16176 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16177 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16178 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16179 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16180 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16181 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16182 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16183 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16184 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16185 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16186 provided by the active file and overviews.
16188 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16189 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16190 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16191 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16192 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16195 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16196 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16201 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16202 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16203 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16204 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16205 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16206 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16207 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16211 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16212 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16213 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16214 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16215 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16216 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16217 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16218 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16219 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16221 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16222 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16223 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16224 friendly mail back end all over.
16228 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16229 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16232 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16233 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16234 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16235 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16236 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
16237 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
16238 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
16239 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
16242 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16243 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16244 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16245 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16246 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16247 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16248 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16249 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16250 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16251 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16252 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16254 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16255 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16256 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16257 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16258 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16261 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16262 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16263 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16264 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16265 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16266 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16267 removed in the future.
16269 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16270 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16271 on your file system.
16273 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16274 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16279 @node Browsing the Web
16280 @section Browsing the Web
16282 @cindex browsing the web
16286 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16287 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16288 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16289 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16290 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16291 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16292 even know what a news group is.
16294 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16295 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16296 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16297 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16298 you mad in the end.
16300 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16303 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16304 interfaces to these sources.
16308 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16309 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
16310 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
16311 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
16312 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16313 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16316 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16317 alternatives to work.
16319 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16320 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16321 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16322 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16323 though, you should be ok.
16325 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16326 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16327 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16328 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16329 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16331 @node Archiving Mail
16332 @subsection Archiving Mail
16333 @cindex archiving mail
16334 @cindex backup of mail
16336 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16337 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16338 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16339 marks is fairly simple.
16341 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16342 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16345 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16346 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16347 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16348 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16349 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16350 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16351 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16352 before you restore the data.
16354 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16355 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16356 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16357 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16358 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16359 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16360 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16361 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16362 is unnecessary in that case.
16365 @subsection Web Searches
16370 @cindex Usenet searches
16371 @cindex searching the Usenet
16373 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16374 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16375 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16376 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16377 searches without having to use a browser.
16379 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16380 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16381 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16382 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16383 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16385 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16386 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16387 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16388 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16389 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16390 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16391 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16392 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16393 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16394 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16397 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16398 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16399 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16400 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16401 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16402 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16404 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16405 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16406 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16408 Virtual server variables:
16413 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16414 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16415 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16418 @vindex nnweb-search
16419 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16421 @item nnweb-max-hits
16422 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16423 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16426 @item nnweb-type-definition
16427 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16428 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16429 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16434 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16438 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16441 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16444 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16448 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16455 @subsection Slashdot
16459 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
16460 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
16461 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
16463 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
16464 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
16467 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16468 '((nnslashdot "")))
16471 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
16472 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
16473 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
16474 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
16475 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
16478 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
16479 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
16481 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
16482 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
16483 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
16484 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
16485 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
16486 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
16487 @acronym{HTML} forms.
16489 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
16492 @item nnslashdot-threaded
16493 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
16494 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
16495 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
16496 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
16497 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
16498 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
16500 @item nnslashdot-login-name
16501 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
16502 The login name to use when posting.
16504 @item nnslashdot-password
16505 @vindex nnslashdot-password
16506 The password to use when posting.
16508 @item nnslashdot-directory
16509 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
16510 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
16511 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
16513 @item nnslashdot-active-url
16514 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
16515 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
16516 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
16517 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
16519 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
16520 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
16521 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
16523 @item nnslashdot-article-url
16524 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
16525 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
16526 article. The default is
16527 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
16529 @item nnslashdot-threshold
16530 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
16531 The score threshold. The default is -1.
16533 @item nnslashdot-group-number
16534 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
16535 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
16536 updated. The default is 0.
16543 @subsection Ultimate
16545 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
16547 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
16548 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
16549 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
16550 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16552 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
16553 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
16554 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
16555 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
16556 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
16557 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
16558 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
16560 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
16563 @item nnultimate-directory
16564 @vindex nnultimate-directory
16565 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
16566 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
16571 @subsection Web Archive
16573 @cindex Web Archive
16575 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
16576 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
16577 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
16578 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
16581 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
16582 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
16583 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
16584 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
16585 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
16586 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
16587 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
16588 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
16590 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
16593 @item nnwarchive-directory
16594 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
16595 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
16596 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
16598 @item nnwarchive-login
16599 @vindex nnwarchive-login
16600 The account name on the web server.
16602 @item nnwarchive-passwd
16603 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
16604 The password for your account on the web server.
16612 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16613 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16614 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16615 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16616 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16618 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16619 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16621 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16622 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16623 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16626 @kindex G R (Group)
16627 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16628 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16629 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16630 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16632 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16633 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16634 subscribe to groups.
16636 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16637 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16638 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16639 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16640 variable. If it is @code{nil}, in Emacs the coding system defaults to
16641 the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system}. If you are using
16642 XEmacs and want to use non-@acronym{ASCII} group names, you should set
16643 the value for the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} variable properly.
16645 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
16646 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
16647 and a @samp{text/html} part.
16650 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
16651 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
16654 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
16655 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
16659 @defun nnrss-opml-export
16660 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
16661 @acronym{OPML} format.
16664 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
16667 @item nnrss-directory
16668 @vindex nnrss-directory
16669 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
16670 @file{~/News/rss/}.
16672 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
16673 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
16674 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
16675 data files. The default is the value of
16676 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
16677 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
16679 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
16680 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
16681 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
16682 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
16683 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
16684 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
16685 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
16686 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
16688 @item nnrss-use-local
16689 @vindex nnrss-use-local
16690 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
16691 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
16692 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
16693 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
16694 download script using @command{wget}.
16696 @item nnrss-wash-html-in-text-plain-parts
16697 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{nnrss} renders text in @samp{text/plain}
16698 parts as @acronym{HTML}. The function specified by the
16699 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} variable (@pxref{Display Customization,
16700 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) will be used
16701 to render text. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default, text will
16702 simply be folded. Leave it @code{nil} if you prefer to see
16703 @samp{text/html} parts.
16706 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
16707 the summary buffer.
16710 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
16711 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16713 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16715 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16716 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16719 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16723 (require 'browse-url)
16725 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
16727 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16730 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16731 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16734 (browse-url (cdr url))
16735 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16736 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16738 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16739 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16740 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16741 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16744 Even if you have added @code{"text/html"} to the
16745 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
16746 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
16747 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
16748 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
16749 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
16750 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
16751 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
16752 @code{nnrss} groups:
16755 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
16756 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
16758 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
16759 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
16760 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
16762 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
16765 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
16769 @node Customizing W3
16770 @subsection Customizing W3
16776 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
16777 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
16778 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
16781 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
16782 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16783 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16786 (eval-after-load "w3"
16788 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16789 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16790 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16791 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16793 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16796 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
16797 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16804 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16806 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16807 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16808 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16809 specify the network address of the server.
16811 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16812 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16813 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16814 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16815 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16816 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16818 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16819 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16820 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16821 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16823 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16824 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16825 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16826 usage explained in this section.
16828 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16829 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16830 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16834 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16835 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16836 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16838 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16839 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16840 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16842 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16843 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16844 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16845 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16846 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16847 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16848 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16849 (nnimap-stream network))
16850 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16852 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16853 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16854 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16857 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16858 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16859 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16860 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16862 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16867 @item nnimap-address
16868 @vindex nnimap-address
16870 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16871 server name if not specified.
16873 @item nnimap-server-port
16874 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16875 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16877 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16880 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16881 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16884 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16885 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16886 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16887 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16888 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16889 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16890 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16892 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16893 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16894 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16897 Example server specification:
16900 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16901 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16902 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16905 @item nnimap-stream
16906 @vindex nnimap-stream
16907 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16908 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16909 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16910 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16911 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16913 Example server specification:
16916 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16917 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16920 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16924 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16925 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16927 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16929 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16930 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16933 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16934 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16936 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16937 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16939 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16941 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16944 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16945 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16946 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16947 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16948 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16949 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16950 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16951 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16952 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16955 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16956 needed. It is available from
16957 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16959 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16960 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16961 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16962 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16963 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16964 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16965 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16968 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16969 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16970 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16971 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16972 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16973 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16974 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16977 @vindex imap-shell-program
16978 @vindex imap-shell-host
16979 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16980 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16982 @item nnimap-authenticator
16983 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16985 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16986 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16988 Example server specification:
16991 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16992 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16995 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16999 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
17000 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
17002 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
17005 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
17006 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
17008 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
17010 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
17012 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
17015 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
17017 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
17018 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
17019 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
17020 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
17021 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
17022 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
17025 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
17026 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
17027 running in circles yet?
17029 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
17030 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
17033 The possible options are:
17038 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
17041 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
17042 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
17043 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
17044 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
17046 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
17051 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
17052 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
17054 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
17055 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
17056 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
17057 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
17058 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
17061 Probably the only reason for frobbing this would be if you're trying
17062 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
17065 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
17066 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
17067 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
17068 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
17071 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
17072 as ticked for other users.
17074 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
17076 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
17077 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
17079 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
17080 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
17081 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
17082 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
17084 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
17085 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
17086 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
17087 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
17089 However, if @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}
17090 is true, this variable has no effect since the search logic
17091 is reversed, as described below.
17093 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
17094 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
17096 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
17097 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
17098 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
17099 @ref{NNTP}. An example of an .authinfo line for an IMAP server, is:
17102 machine students.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis port imap
17105 Note that it should be @code{port imap}, or @code{port 143}, if you
17106 use a @code{nnimap-stream} of @code{tls} or @code{ssl}, even if the
17107 actual port number used is port 993 for secured IMAP. For
17108 convenience, Gnus will accept @code{port imaps} as a synonym of
17111 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
17112 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
17114 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
17115 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
17118 @item nnimap-nov-is-evil
17119 @vindex nnimap-nov-is-evil
17120 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
17121 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
17123 Never generate or use a local @acronym{NOV} database. Defaults to the
17124 value of @code{gnus-agent}.
17126 Using a @acronym{NOV} database usually makes header fetching much
17127 faster, but it uses the @code{UID SEARCH UID} command, which is very
17128 slow on some servers (notably some versions of Courier). Since the Gnus
17129 Agent caches the information in the @acronym{NOV} database without using
17130 the slow command, this variable defaults to true if the Agent is in use,
17131 and false otherwise.
17133 @item nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
17134 @vindex nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil
17135 @cindex Courier @acronym{IMAP} server
17136 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
17138 Avoid the @code{UID SEARCH UID @var{message numbers} NOT SINCE
17139 @var{date}} command, which is slow on some @acronym{IMAP} servers
17140 (notably, some versions of Courier). Instead, use @code{UID SEARCH SINCE
17141 @var{date}} and prune the list of expirable articles within Gnus.
17143 When Gnus expires your mail (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), it starts with a
17144 list of expirable articles and asks the IMAP server questions like ``Of
17145 these articles, which ones are older than a week?'' While this seems
17146 like a perfectly reasonable question, some IMAP servers take a long time
17147 to answer it, since they seemingly go looking into every old article to
17148 see if it is one of the expirable ones. Curiously, the question ``Of
17149 @emph{all} articles, which ones are newer than a week?'' seems to be
17150 much faster to answer, so setting this variable causes Gnus to ask this
17151 question and figure out the answer to the real question itself.
17153 This problem can really sneak up on you: when you first configure Gnus,
17154 everything works fine, but once you accumulate a couple thousand
17155 messages, you start cursing Gnus for being so slow. On the other hand,
17156 if you get a lot of email within a week, setting this variable will
17157 cause a lot of network traffic between Gnus and the IMAP server.
17159 @item nnimap-logout-timeout
17160 @vindex nnimap-logout-timeout
17162 There is a case where a connection to a @acronym{IMAP} server is unable
17163 to close, when connecting to the server via a certain kind of network,
17164 e.g. @acronym{VPN}. In that case, it will be observed that a connection
17165 between Emacs and the local network looks alive even if the server has
17166 closed a connection for some reason (typically, a timeout).
17167 Consequently, Emacs continues waiting for a response from the server for
17168 the @code{LOGOUT} command that Emacs sent, or hangs in other words. If
17169 you are in such a network, setting this variable to a number of seconds
17170 will be helpful. If it is set, a hung connection will be closed
17171 forcibly, after this number of seconds from the time Emacs sends the
17172 @code{LOGOUT} command. It should not be too small value but too large
17173 value will be inconvenient too. Perhaps the value 1.0 will be a good
17174 candidate but it might be worth trying some other values.
17176 Example server specification:
17179 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
17180 (nnimap-logout-timeout 1.0))
17186 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
17187 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
17188 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
17189 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
17190 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
17191 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
17196 @node Splitting in IMAP
17197 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
17198 @cindex splitting imap mail
17200 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
17201 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
17202 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
17203 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
17204 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
17208 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
17209 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
17210 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
17212 Here are the variables of interest:
17216 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
17217 @cindex splitting, crosspost
17219 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
17221 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
17222 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
17223 found will be used.
17225 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
17227 @item nnimap-split-inbox
17228 @cindex splitting, inbox
17230 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
17232 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
17233 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
17234 splitting is disabled!
17237 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
17238 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
17241 No nnmail equivalent.
17243 @item nnimap-split-rule
17244 @cindex splitting, rules
17245 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
17247 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
17250 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
17251 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
17252 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
17253 Neither did I, we need examples.
17256 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17258 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
17259 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
17260 ("INBOX.private" "")))
17263 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
17264 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
17265 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
17267 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
17268 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
17272 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
17275 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
17276 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
17278 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
17279 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
17280 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
17281 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
17283 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
17284 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
17285 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
17286 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
17287 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
17288 them every time you fetch new mail.)
17290 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
17291 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
17292 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
17294 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
17295 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
17296 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17298 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
17300 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
17301 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
17302 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
17305 (setq nnimap-split-rule
17306 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
17307 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
17308 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
17309 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
17310 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
17313 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
17314 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
17315 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
17316 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
17317 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
17318 group/function elements.
17320 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
17322 @item nnimap-split-predicate
17324 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
17326 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
17327 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
17329 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
17330 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
17331 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
17334 @item nnimap-split-fancy
17335 @cindex splitting, fancy
17336 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
17337 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
17339 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17340 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
17341 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
17343 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
17344 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
17345 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
17346 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
17351 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
17352 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
17355 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
17357 @item nnimap-split-download-body
17358 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
17359 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
17361 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
17362 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
17363 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
17364 splitting function that analyzes the body to split the article.
17368 @node Expiring in IMAP
17369 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
17370 @cindex expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail
17372 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
17373 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
17374 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
17375 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
17376 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
17377 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
17380 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
17381 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
17382 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
17383 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
17384 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
17385 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
17386 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
17387 messages. Most do, fortunately.
17389 If expiring @acronym{IMAP} mail seems very slow, try setting the server
17390 variable @code{nnimap-search-uids-not-since-is-evil}.
17394 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
17395 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
17397 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
17398 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
17400 @item nnmail-expiry-target
17402 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
17403 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
17404 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
17405 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
17409 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
17410 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
17411 @cindex editing imap acls
17412 @cindex Access Control Lists
17413 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
17414 @kindex G l (Group)
17415 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
17417 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
17418 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
17419 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
17422 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
17423 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
17424 editing window with detailed instructions.
17426 Some possible uses:
17430 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
17431 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
17432 follow the list without subscribing to it.
17434 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
17435 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
17436 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
17440 @node Expunging mailboxes
17441 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
17445 @cindex manual expunging
17446 @kindex G x (Group)
17447 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
17449 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
17450 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
17451 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
17453 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
17456 @node A note on namespaces
17457 @subsection A note on namespaces
17458 @cindex IMAP namespace
17461 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
17462 by the following text in the RFC2060:
17465 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
17467 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
17468 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
17469 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
17470 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
17472 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
17473 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
17474 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
17475 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
17476 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
17477 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
17480 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
17481 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
17482 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
17484 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
17485 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
17486 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
17487 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
17488 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
17489 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
17490 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
17491 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
17494 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
17495 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
17496 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
17498 @node Debugging IMAP
17499 @subsection Debugging IMAP
17500 @cindex IMAP debugging
17501 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
17503 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
17504 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
17505 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behavior, chances
17506 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
17508 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
17509 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
17510 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
17511 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
17512 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
17513 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
17514 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
17518 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
17519 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
17526 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
17527 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
17528 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
17529 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
17532 @node Other Sources
17533 @section Other Sources
17535 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17536 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17540 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17541 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17542 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17543 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
17544 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17548 @node Directory Groups
17549 @subsection Directory Groups
17551 @cindex directory groups
17553 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17554 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17557 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17558 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17559 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17560 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17562 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17563 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17564 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17565 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17566 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17568 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17570 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17571 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17572 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17573 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17576 @node Anything Groups
17577 @subsection Anything Groups
17580 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17581 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17582 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17585 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17586 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17587 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17588 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17589 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17590 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17591 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17592 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17593 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17594 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17597 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17598 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17599 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17600 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17602 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17603 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17604 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17605 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17607 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17608 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17609 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17610 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17611 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17612 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17613 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17614 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17619 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17620 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17621 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17622 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17624 @item nneething-exclude-files
17625 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17626 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17627 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17629 @item nneething-include-files
17630 @vindex nneething-include-files
17631 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17632 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17634 @item nneething-map-file
17635 @vindex nneething-map-file
17636 Name of the map files.
17640 @node Document Groups
17641 @subsection Document Groups
17643 @cindex documentation group
17646 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17647 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17653 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
17658 The standard Unix mbox file.
17660 @cindex MMDF mail box
17662 The MMDF mail box format.
17665 Several news articles appended into a file.
17667 @cindex rnews batch files
17669 The rnews batch transport format.
17672 Netscape mail boxes.
17675 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17677 @item standard-digest
17678 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17681 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17683 @item lanl-gov-announce
17684 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17686 @cindex forwarded messages
17687 @item rfc822-forward
17688 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17691 The Outlook mail box.
17694 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17697 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17700 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17703 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17709 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17712 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17718 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17719 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17720 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17723 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17724 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17725 group. And that's it.
17727 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17728 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17729 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17730 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17731 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17732 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17733 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17734 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17735 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17736 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17738 Virtual server variables:
17741 @item nndoc-article-type
17742 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17743 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17744 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17745 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17746 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17747 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17749 @item nndoc-post-type
17750 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17751 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17752 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17757 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17761 @node Document Server Internals
17762 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17764 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17765 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17766 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17767 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17769 First, here's an example document type definition:
17773 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17774 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17777 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17778 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17779 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17780 types can be defined with very few settings:
17783 @item first-article
17784 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17785 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17788 @item article-begin
17789 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17790 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17791 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17792 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17794 @item article-begin-function
17795 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17796 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17799 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17800 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17801 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17803 @item head-begin-function
17804 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17805 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17808 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17809 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17812 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17813 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17814 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17816 @item body-begin-function
17817 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17818 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17821 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17822 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17823 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17825 @item body-end-function
17826 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17827 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17830 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17831 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17834 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17835 regexp will be totally ignored.
17839 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17840 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17841 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17842 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17843 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17846 @item prepare-body-function
17847 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17848 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17849 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17851 @item article-transform-function
17852 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17853 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17854 body of the article.
17856 @item generate-head-function
17857 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17858 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17859 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17860 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17862 @item generate-article-function
17863 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17864 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17865 parameter when requesting all articles.
17867 @item dissection-function
17868 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17869 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17870 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17871 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17872 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17873 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17877 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17882 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17883 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17884 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17885 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17886 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17887 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17888 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17889 (subtype digest guess))
17892 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17893 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17894 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17895 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17896 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17898 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17899 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17900 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17901 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17902 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17903 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17904 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17905 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17906 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17907 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17908 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17909 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17917 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17918 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17919 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17921 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17922 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17923 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17926 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17927 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17928 that interested in doing things properly.
17930 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17931 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17934 First some terminology:
17939 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17940 get news and/or mail from.
17943 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17944 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17947 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17951 @item message packets
17952 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17953 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17954 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17956 @item response packets
17957 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17958 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17959 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17969 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17970 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17971 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17972 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17975 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17978 You put the packet in your home directory.
17981 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17982 the native or secondary server.
17985 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17986 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17989 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17993 You transfer this packet to the server.
17996 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17999 You then repeat until you die.
18003 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
18004 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
18007 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
18008 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
18009 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
18013 @node SOUP Commands
18014 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
18016 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
18020 @kindex G s b (Group)
18021 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
18022 Pack all unread articles in the current group
18023 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
18024 process/prefix convention.
18027 @kindex G s w (Group)
18028 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
18029 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
18032 @kindex G s s (Group)
18033 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
18034 Send all replies from the replies packet
18035 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
18038 @kindex G s p (Group)
18039 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
18040 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
18043 @kindex G s r (Group)
18044 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
18045 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
18048 @kindex O s (Summary)
18049 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
18050 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
18051 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
18052 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18057 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
18062 @item gnus-soup-directory
18063 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
18064 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
18065 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
18067 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
18068 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
18069 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
18070 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
18072 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
18073 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
18074 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
18075 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
18077 @item gnus-soup-packer
18078 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
18079 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
18080 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
18082 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
18083 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
18084 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
18085 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
18087 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
18088 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
18089 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
18091 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
18092 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
18093 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
18094 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
18100 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
18103 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
18104 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
18105 you can read them at leisure.
18107 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
18111 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
18112 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
18113 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
18114 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
18116 @item nnsoup-directory
18117 @vindex nnsoup-directory
18118 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
18119 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
18121 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
18122 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
18123 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
18124 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
18126 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
18127 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
18128 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
18129 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
18130 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
18132 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
18133 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
18134 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
18135 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
18137 @item nnsoup-active-file
18138 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
18139 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
18140 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
18141 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
18142 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
18144 @item nnsoup-packer
18145 @vindex nnsoup-packer
18146 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
18147 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
18149 @item nnsoup-unpacker
18150 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
18151 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
18152 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
18154 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
18155 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
18156 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
18159 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
18160 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
18161 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
18164 @item nnsoup-always-save
18165 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
18166 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
18172 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
18174 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
18175 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
18176 more for that to happen.
18178 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
18179 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
18180 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
18183 In specific, this is what it does:
18186 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
18187 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
18190 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
18191 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
18192 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
18195 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
18196 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
18197 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
18200 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
18201 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
18202 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
18204 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
18210 @item nngateway-address
18211 @vindex nngateway-address
18212 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
18214 @item nngateway-header-transformation
18215 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
18216 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
18217 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
18218 transformation should be called, and defaults to
18219 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
18220 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
18223 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
18224 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
18225 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
18228 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
18231 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
18234 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
18237 The following pre-defined functions exist:
18239 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18242 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
18243 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18244 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
18246 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18248 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
18249 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
18250 @code{nngateway-address}.
18258 (setq gnus-post-method
18260 "mail2news@@replay.com"
18261 (nngateway-header-transformation
18262 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
18265 So, to use this, simply say something like:
18268 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
18273 @node Combined Groups
18274 @section Combined Groups
18276 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
18280 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
18281 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
18285 @node Virtual Groups
18286 @subsection Virtual Groups
18288 @cindex virtual groups
18289 @cindex merging groups
18291 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
18294 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
18295 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
18296 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
18298 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
18299 regexp to match component groups.
18301 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
18302 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
18303 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
18304 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
18305 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
18306 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
18307 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
18308 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
18310 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
18311 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
18314 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
18317 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
18318 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
18320 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
18321 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
18322 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
18323 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
18326 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
18329 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
18330 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
18331 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
18333 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
18334 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
18335 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
18336 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
18337 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
18339 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
18340 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
18341 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
18343 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
18344 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
18345 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
18346 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
18347 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
18348 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
18349 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
18350 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
18351 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
18352 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
18353 it---it'll have much the same effect.
18355 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
18356 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
18357 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
18358 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
18359 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
18360 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
18361 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
18363 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
18364 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
18366 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
18367 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
18371 @node Kibozed Groups
18372 @subsection Kibozed Groups
18376 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
18377 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
18378 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
18379 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
18381 @kindex G k (Group)
18382 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
18385 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
18386 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
18387 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
18388 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
18390 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
18391 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
18392 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
18394 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
18395 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
18396 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
18397 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
18398 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
18399 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
18400 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
18401 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
18403 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
18404 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
18405 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
18406 Stranger things have happened.
18408 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
18409 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
18411 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
18412 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
18413 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
18414 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
18415 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
18416 information on what groups have been searched through to find
18417 component articles.
18419 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
18420 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
18423 @node Email Based Diary
18424 @section Email Based Diary
18426 @cindex email based diary
18429 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
18430 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
18431 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
18432 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
18433 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
18434 namely, as event reminders.
18436 Here is a typical scenario:
18440 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
18441 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
18443 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
18445 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
18447 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
18448 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
18449 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
18451 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
18452 of the night you're gonna have.
18454 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
18455 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
18458 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
18459 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
18460 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
18461 explained in the sections below.
18464 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
18465 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
18466 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
18470 @node The NNDiary Back End
18471 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
18473 @cindex the nndiary back end
18475 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
18476 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
18477 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
18478 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
18479 directory per group.
18481 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
18482 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
18483 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
18484 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
18487 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
18488 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
18489 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
18492 @node Diary Messages
18493 @subsubsection Diary Messages
18494 @cindex nndiary messages
18495 @cindex nndiary mails
18497 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
18498 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
18499 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
18500 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
18501 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
18502 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
18503 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
18507 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
18508 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
18509 (separated by a comma).
18511 A field is either an integer, or a range.
18513 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
18515 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
18516 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
18517 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
18519 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
18520 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
18521 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
18523 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
18524 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
18525 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
18526 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
18527 list of available time zone values, see the variable
18528 @code{nndiary-headers}.
18531 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
18532 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
18533 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
18538 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
18541 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
18543 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
18546 @node Running NNDiary
18547 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
18548 @cindex running nndiary
18549 @cindex nndiary operation modes
18551 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
18552 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
18553 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
18554 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
18555 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
18556 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
18558 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
18559 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
18560 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
18561 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
18562 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
18563 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
18564 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
18567 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
18572 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
18573 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18576 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
18579 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
18580 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
18581 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
18582 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
18583 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
18585 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
18586 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
18595 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
18596 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
18598 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
18599 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18600 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
18601 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
18604 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
18605 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
18606 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
18609 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
18610 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
18611 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
18613 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
18614 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
18615 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
18616 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
18617 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
18619 @node Customizing NNDiary
18620 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
18621 @cindex customizing nndiary
18622 @cindex nndiary customization
18624 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
18625 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
18626 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
18627 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
18629 @defvar nndiary-reminders
18630 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
18631 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
18632 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
18633 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
18637 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
18638 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
18643 @node The Gnus Diary Library
18644 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
18646 @cindex the gnus diary library
18648 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
18649 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
18650 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
18651 useful things for you.
18653 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
18656 (require 'gnus-diary)
18659 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
18660 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
18661 (sorry if you used them before).
18665 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
18666 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
18667 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
18668 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
18671 @node Diary Summary Line Format
18672 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
18673 @cindex diary summary buffer line
18674 @cindex diary summary line format
18676 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
18677 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
18678 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
18679 see the event's date.
18681 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
18682 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
18683 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
18684 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
18685 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
18687 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
18688 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
18689 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
18692 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
18695 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
18696 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
18699 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
18702 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18703 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18704 with the following user options:
18706 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18707 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18708 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18709 diary groups'parameters.
18712 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18713 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18714 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18717 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18718 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18719 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18720 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18721 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18724 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18725 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18726 @cindex diary articles sorting
18727 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18728 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18729 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18730 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18732 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18733 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18734 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18735 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18736 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18738 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18739 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18740 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18741 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18744 @node Diary Headers Generation
18745 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18746 @cindex diary headers generation
18747 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18749 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18750 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18751 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18752 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18755 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18756 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18757 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c D c} in @code{message-mode}
18758 and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the process of converting
18759 a usual mail to a diary one.
18761 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18762 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18763 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18766 @node Diary Group Parameters
18767 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18768 @cindex diary group parameters
18770 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18771 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18772 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18773 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18774 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18775 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18776 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18777 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18779 @node Sending or Not Sending
18780 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18782 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18783 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18787 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18788 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18789 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18790 sending the diary message to them as well.
18792 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18793 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18794 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18795 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18798 @node Gnus Unplugged
18799 @section Gnus Unplugged
18804 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18806 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18807 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18808 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18809 read news. Believe it or not.
18811 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18812 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18813 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18814 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18815 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18817 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18818 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18819 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18820 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18821 reading news on a machine.
18823 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18824 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18825 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18827 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18830 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18831 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18832 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18833 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18834 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18835 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18836 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18837 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18838 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18839 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18840 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18841 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18842 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18843 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18848 @subsection Agent Basics
18850 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18852 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18853 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18854 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18855 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18857 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18858 connected to the net continuously.
18860 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18861 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18863 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18864 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18865 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18866 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18867 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18869 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18870 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18871 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18872 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18873 they're kinda like plugged always).
18875 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18876 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18877 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18880 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18881 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18882 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18883 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18884 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18886 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18891 @findex gnus-unplugged
18892 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18893 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18894 already fetched while in this mode.
18897 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18898 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18899 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18900 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18901 Source Specifiers}).
18904 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18905 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18906 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18907 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18908 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18911 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18912 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18913 then you read the news offline.
18916 And then you go to step 2.
18919 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18925 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18926 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18927 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18928 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18929 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18930 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18931 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18932 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18935 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18936 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18937 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18938 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18940 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18941 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18942 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18943 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18944 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18945 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18949 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18953 @node Agent Categories
18954 @subsection Agent Categories
18956 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18957 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18958 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18959 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18960 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18961 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18962 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18964 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18965 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18966 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18967 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18968 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18970 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18971 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18972 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18973 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18974 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18977 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18978 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18979 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18980 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18981 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18982 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18986 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18987 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18988 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18992 @node Category Syntax
18993 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18995 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18996 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18997 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
19000 @cindex Agent Parameters
19003 The list of groups that are in this category.
19005 @item agent-predicate
19006 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
19007 are eligible for downloading; and
19010 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
19011 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
19012 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
19014 @item agent-enable-expiration
19015 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
19016 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
19017 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
19018 only groups that should not be expired.
19020 @item agent-days-until-old
19021 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
19022 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
19024 @item agent-low-score
19025 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
19027 @item agent-high-score
19028 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
19030 @item agent-short-article
19031 an integer that overrides the value of
19032 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
19034 @item agent-long-article
19035 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
19037 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
19038 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
19039 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
19040 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
19041 undownloaded faces.
19044 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
19047 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
19048 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
19049 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
19052 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
19053 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
19054 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
19055 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
19057 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
19058 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
19059 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
19061 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
19062 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
19063 operators sprinkled in between.
19065 Perhaps some examples are in order.
19067 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
19068 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
19074 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
19075 short (for some value of ``short'').
19077 Here's a more complex predicate:
19086 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
19087 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
19090 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
19091 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
19092 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
19094 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
19095 you want to do, you can write your own.
19097 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
19098 bound to the value determined by calling
19099 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
19100 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
19101 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
19102 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
19103 predicate to individual groups.
19107 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
19108 lines; default 100.
19111 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
19112 lines; default 200.
19115 True iff the article has a download score less than
19116 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
19119 True iff the article has a download score greater than
19120 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
19123 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
19124 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
19125 checksum and sees whether articles match.
19134 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
19135 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
19136 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
19139 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
19140 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
19141 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
19142 something along the lines of the following:
19145 (defun my-article-old-p ()
19146 "Say whether an article is old."
19147 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
19148 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
19151 with the predicate then defined as:
19154 (not my-article-old-p)
19157 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
19158 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
19162 (require 'gnus-agent)
19163 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
19164 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
19165 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
19168 and simply specify your predicate as:
19174 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
19175 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
19176 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
19177 just don't give a damn.
19179 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
19180 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
19181 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
19182 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
19183 parameters like so:
19186 (agent-predicate . short)
19189 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
19190 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
19191 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
19193 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
19196 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
19199 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
19200 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
19201 predicate is assumed to be a list.
19204 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
19205 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
19206 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
19207 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
19208 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
19209 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
19211 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
19212 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
19213 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
19214 if it's to be specific to that group.
19216 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
19223 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
19224 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
19230 Category specification
19234 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19240 Group/Topic Parameter specification
19243 (agent-score ("from"
19244 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
19249 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
19255 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
19256 keywords stated above.
19262 Category specification
19265 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
19271 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
19275 Group Parameter specification
19278 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
19281 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
19286 Use @code{normal} score files
19288 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
19289 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
19290 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
19291 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
19293 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
19294 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
19295 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
19296 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
19300 Category Specification
19307 Group Parameter specification
19310 (agent-score . file)
19315 @node Category Buffer
19316 @subsubsection Category Buffer
19318 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
19319 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
19320 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
19322 The following commands are available in this buffer:
19326 @kindex q (Category)
19327 @findex gnus-category-exit
19328 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
19331 @kindex e (Category)
19332 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
19333 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
19334 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
19337 @kindex k (Category)
19338 @findex gnus-category-kill
19339 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
19342 @kindex c (Category)
19343 @findex gnus-category-copy
19344 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
19347 @kindex a (Category)
19348 @findex gnus-category-add
19349 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
19352 @kindex p (Category)
19353 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
19354 Edit the predicate of the current category
19355 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
19358 @kindex g (Category)
19359 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
19360 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
19361 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
19364 @kindex s (Category)
19365 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
19366 Edit the download score rule of the current category
19367 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
19370 @kindex l (Category)
19371 @findex gnus-category-list
19372 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
19376 @node Category Variables
19377 @subsubsection Category Variables
19380 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
19381 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
19382 Hook run in category buffers.
19384 @item gnus-category-line-format
19385 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
19386 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
19387 Variables}). Valid elements are:
19391 The name of the category.
19394 The number of groups in the category.
19397 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
19398 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
19399 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
19401 @item gnus-agent-short-article
19402 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
19403 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
19405 @item gnus-agent-long-article
19406 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
19407 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
19409 @item gnus-agent-low-score
19410 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
19411 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
19414 @item gnus-agent-high-score
19415 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
19416 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
19419 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
19420 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19421 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
19422 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
19423 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
19424 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
19425 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
19426 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
19430 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19431 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
19432 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
19433 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
19434 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
19435 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
19436 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
19441 @node Agent Commands
19442 @subsection Agent Commands
19443 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
19444 @kindex J j (Agent)
19446 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
19447 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
19448 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
19452 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
19453 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
19454 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
19460 @node Group Agent Commands
19461 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
19465 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
19466 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
19467 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
19468 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
19471 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
19472 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
19473 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
19476 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
19477 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
19478 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
19479 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
19482 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
19483 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
19484 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
19485 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
19488 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
19489 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
19490 Add the current group to an Agent category
19491 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
19492 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19495 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
19496 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
19497 Remove the current group from its category, if any
19498 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
19499 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19502 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
19503 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19504 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
19510 @node Summary Agent Commands
19511 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
19515 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
19516 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
19517 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
19520 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
19521 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
19522 Remove the downloading mark from the article
19523 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
19527 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
19528 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
19529 Toggle whether to download the article
19530 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
19534 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
19535 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
19536 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
19539 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
19540 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
19541 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
19542 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
19545 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
19546 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
19547 Download all processable articles in this group.
19548 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
19551 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
19552 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
19553 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
19554 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
19559 @node Server Agent Commands
19560 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
19564 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
19565 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
19566 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
19567 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
19570 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
19571 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
19572 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
19573 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
19578 @node Agent Visuals
19579 @subsection Agent Visuals
19581 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
19582 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
19583 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
19584 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
19585 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
19586 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
19587 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
19588 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
19589 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
19590 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
19592 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
19593 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
19594 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
19595 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
19596 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
19597 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
19598 the download status of each article so that you always know which
19599 articles will be available when unplugged.
19601 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
19602 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
19603 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
19604 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
19605 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
19606 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
19607 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
19608 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
19610 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
19611 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
19612 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
19613 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
19614 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
19615 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
19616 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
19617 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
19618 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
19620 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
19621 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
19622 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
19623 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
19624 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
19625 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
19626 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
19627 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
19628 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
19629 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
19631 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
19632 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
19633 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
19634 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
19635 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
19636 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19638 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
19639 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
19640 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
19641 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
19642 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
19643 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
19644 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
19645 expiring'' articles.
19647 @node Agent as Cache
19648 @subsection Agent as Cache
19650 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
19651 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
19652 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
19653 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
19654 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
19655 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
19656 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
19657 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
19658 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
19660 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
19661 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
19662 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
19663 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
19664 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
19667 @subsection Agent Expiry
19669 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
19670 @findex gnus-agent-expire
19671 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
19672 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
19673 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
19674 @cindex agent expiry
19675 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
19676 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
19678 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
19679 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
19680 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
19681 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
19682 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
19683 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
19684 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
19685 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
19687 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
19688 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
19689 synchronized with the group.
19691 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
19692 prevent expiration in selected groups.
19694 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
19695 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
19696 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
19697 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
19698 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
19699 be kept indefinitely.
19701 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
19702 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19703 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19704 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19706 @node Agent Regeneration
19707 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19709 @cindex agent regeneration
19710 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19711 @cindex regeneration
19713 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19714 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19715 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19716 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19717 internal inconsistencies.
19719 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19720 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19721 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19722 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19723 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19724 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19726 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19727 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19728 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19729 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19730 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19731 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19733 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19734 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19735 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19736 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19737 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19738 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19741 @node Agent and flags
19742 @subsection Agent and flags
19744 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19745 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19746 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19747 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19748 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19749 to the flags in its own files.
19751 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19752 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19753 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19755 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19756 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19757 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19758 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19759 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19760 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19762 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19763 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19764 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19765 in the group buffer.
19767 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19768 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19769 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19770 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19771 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19772 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19773 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19774 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19776 @node Agent and IMAP
19777 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19779 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19780 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19781 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19782 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19784 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19785 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19790 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19793 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19797 @node Outgoing Messages
19798 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19800 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19801 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19802 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19804 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19805 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19806 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19808 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19809 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19810 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19811 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19814 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19815 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19816 ask you to confirm your action (see
19817 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19819 @node Agent Variables
19820 @subsection Agent Variables
19825 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19826 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19827 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19828 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19830 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19831 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19834 @item gnus-agent-directory
19835 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19836 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19837 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19839 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19840 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19841 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19842 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19843 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19846 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19847 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19848 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19850 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19851 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19852 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19854 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19855 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19856 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19858 @item gnus-agent-cache
19859 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19860 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19861 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19862 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19864 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19865 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19866 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19867 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19868 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19869 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19870 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19873 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19874 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19875 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19876 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19877 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19878 read. The default is @code{t}.
19880 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19881 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19882 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19883 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19884 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19885 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19886 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19888 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19889 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19890 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19891 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19892 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19893 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19894 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19895 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19896 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19897 over and over again.
19899 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19900 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19901 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19902 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19903 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19904 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19905 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19906 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19907 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19908 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19909 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
19910 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19913 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19914 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19915 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19916 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19917 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19918 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19919 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19920 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19921 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19923 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19924 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19925 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19926 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19927 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19928 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19930 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19931 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19932 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19933 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19934 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19936 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19937 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19938 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19939 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19940 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19941 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19943 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19944 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19945 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19946 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19947 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19949 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19950 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19951 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19952 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19953 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19954 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19955 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19956 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19957 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19958 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19959 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19964 @node Example Setup
19965 @subsection Example Setup
19967 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19968 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19969 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19972 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19973 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19974 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19976 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19977 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19978 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19980 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19981 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19983 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19984 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19985 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19988 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19989 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19992 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19993 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19994 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19995 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19996 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19999 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
20000 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
20001 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
20002 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
20003 back all the killed groups.)
20005 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
20006 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
20007 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
20010 @node Batching Agents
20011 @subsection Batching Agents
20012 @findex gnus-agent-batch
20014 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
20015 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
20016 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
20018 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
20019 following incantation:
20023 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
20027 @node Agent Caveats
20028 @subsection Agent Caveats
20030 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
20031 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
20035 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
20037 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
20038 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
20039 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
20041 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
20042 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
20044 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
20048 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
20049 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
20050 locally stored articles.
20057 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
20058 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
20059 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
20062 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
20063 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
20064 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
20065 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
20066 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
20068 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
20069 before generating the summary buffer.
20071 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
20072 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
20073 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
20075 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
20076 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
20077 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
20078 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
20081 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
20082 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
20083 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
20084 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
20085 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
20086 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
20087 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
20088 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
20089 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
20090 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
20091 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
20092 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
20093 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
20094 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
20095 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
20096 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
20100 @node Summary Score Commands
20101 @section Summary Score Commands
20102 @cindex score commands
20104 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
20105 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
20106 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
20107 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
20108 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
20110 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
20111 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
20112 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
20113 score file the current one.
20115 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
20120 @kindex V s (Summary)
20121 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
20122 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
20125 @kindex V S (Summary)
20126 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
20127 Display the score of the current article
20128 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
20131 @kindex V t (Summary)
20132 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
20133 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
20134 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
20135 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
20136 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
20137 score file and edit it.
20140 @kindex V w (Summary)
20141 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
20142 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
20145 @kindex V R (Summary)
20146 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
20147 Run the current summary through the scoring process
20148 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
20149 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
20150 effect you're having.
20153 @kindex V c (Summary)
20154 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
20155 Make a different score file the current
20156 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
20159 @kindex V e (Summary)
20160 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
20161 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
20162 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
20166 @kindex V f (Summary)
20167 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
20168 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
20169 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
20172 @kindex V F (Summary)
20173 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20174 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
20175 after editing score files.
20178 @kindex V C (Summary)
20179 @findex gnus-score-customize
20180 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
20181 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
20185 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
20190 @kindex V m (Summary)
20191 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
20192 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
20193 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
20196 @kindex V x (Summary)
20197 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
20198 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
20199 expunge all articles below this score
20200 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
20203 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
20204 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
20207 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
20208 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
20212 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
20213 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
20215 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
20216 keys are available:
20220 Score on the author name.
20223 Score on the subject line.
20226 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
20229 Score on the @code{References} line.
20235 Score on the number of lines.
20238 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
20241 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
20242 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
20245 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
20246 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
20247 @file{ADAPT} files.)
20256 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
20262 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
20263 what headers you are scoring on.
20275 Substring matching.
20278 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
20307 Greater than number.
20312 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
20313 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
20314 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
20319 Temporary score entry.
20322 Permanent score entry.
20325 Immediately scoring.
20329 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
20330 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
20331 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
20335 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
20336 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
20337 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
20338 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
20340 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
20341 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
20342 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
20343 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
20344 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
20346 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
20347 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
20348 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
20349 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
20350 current score file.
20352 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
20353 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
20354 pretend they are keymaps or not.
20357 @node Group Score Commands
20358 @section Group Score Commands
20359 @cindex group score commands
20361 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
20366 @kindex W e (Group)
20367 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
20368 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
20369 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
20372 @kindex W f (Group)
20373 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
20374 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
20375 all the time. This command will flush the cache
20376 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
20380 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
20382 @findex gnus-batch-score
20383 @cindex batch scoring
20385 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
20389 @node Score Variables
20390 @section Score Variables
20391 @cindex score variables
20395 @item gnus-use-scoring
20396 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
20397 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
20398 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
20400 @item gnus-kill-killed
20401 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
20402 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
20403 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
20404 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
20405 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
20406 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
20407 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
20409 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
20410 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
20411 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
20412 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
20413 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
20415 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
20416 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
20417 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
20418 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
20420 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20421 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
20422 @cindex score cache
20423 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
20424 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
20425 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
20426 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
20427 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
20428 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
20429 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
20432 @item gnus-save-score
20433 @vindex gnus-save-score
20434 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
20435 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
20436 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
20438 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
20439 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
20440 across group visits.
20442 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20443 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
20444 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
20445 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
20446 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
20447 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
20448 manually entered data.
20450 @item gnus-summary-default-score
20451 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
20452 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
20454 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
20455 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
20456 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
20457 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
20458 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
20459 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
20461 @item gnus-score-over-mark
20462 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
20463 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
20464 default. Default is @samp{+}.
20466 @item gnus-score-below-mark
20467 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
20468 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
20469 default. Default is @samp{-}.
20471 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20472 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
20473 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
20474 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
20476 Predefined functions available are:
20479 @item gnus-score-find-single
20480 @findex gnus-score-find-single
20481 Only apply the group's own score file.
20483 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
20484 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
20485 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
20486 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
20487 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
20488 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
20489 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
20490 then a regexp match is done.
20492 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
20493 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
20495 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
20496 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
20497 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
20498 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
20500 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20501 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
20502 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
20503 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
20504 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
20508 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
20509 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
20510 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
20511 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
20512 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
20513 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
20514 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
20517 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
20518 overall score file, you could use the value
20520 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
20521 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
20524 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
20525 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
20526 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
20527 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
20528 are expired. It's 7 by default.
20530 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20531 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
20532 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
20533 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
20534 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
20535 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
20536 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
20537 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
20539 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20540 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
20541 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
20543 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
20544 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
20545 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
20546 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
20547 threading---according to the current value of
20548 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
20549 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
20550 simplified in this manner.
20555 @node Score File Format
20556 @section Score File Format
20557 @cindex score file format
20559 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
20560 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
20561 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
20563 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
20567 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
20569 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
20571 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
20573 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
20578 (mark-and-expunge -10)
20582 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
20583 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
20584 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
20585 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
20589 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
20590 Scoring}, for a different approach.
20592 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
20593 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
20594 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
20596 Six keys are supported by this alist:
20601 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
20602 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
20603 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
20604 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
20605 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
20606 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
20607 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
20608 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
20609 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
20610 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
20611 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
20612 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
20613 to articles that matches these score entries.
20615 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
20616 score entry has one to four elements.
20620 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
20621 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
20625 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
20626 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
20627 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
20628 is successful. If this element is not present, the
20629 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
20630 instead. This is 1000 by default.
20633 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
20634 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
20635 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
20636 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
20637 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
20640 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
20641 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
20642 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
20643 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
20646 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
20647 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
20648 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
20649 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
20650 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
20651 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
20652 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
20653 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
20654 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
20655 instead, if you feel like.
20658 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
20659 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
20660 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
20661 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
20662 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
20663 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
20667 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
20668 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
20672 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
20673 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
20675 These predicates are true if
20678 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
20681 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
20682 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
20689 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
20690 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
20691 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
20692 it's not. I think.)
20694 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
20695 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
20696 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
20697 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
20700 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
20701 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
20702 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20703 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20704 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20705 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20706 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20710 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20711 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20712 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20713 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20714 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20715 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20716 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20717 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20720 @item Head, Body, All
20721 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20725 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20726 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20727 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20728 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20729 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20730 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20731 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20735 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20736 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20737 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20738 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20739 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20740 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20741 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20742 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20743 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20744 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20745 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20749 @cindex score file atoms
20751 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20752 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20755 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20756 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20758 @item mark-and-expunge
20759 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20760 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20763 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20764 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20765 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20766 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20767 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20770 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20771 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20774 @item exclude-files
20775 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20776 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20780 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
20781 ignored when handling global score files.
20784 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20785 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20786 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20787 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20790 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20791 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20792 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20793 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20795 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20799 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20802 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20803 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20804 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
20805 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20806 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20808 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20809 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20810 scoring rules exist.
20813 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20814 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20815 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20816 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20817 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20818 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20819 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20820 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20821 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20822 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20823 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20827 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20828 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20829 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20830 file for a number of groups.
20833 @cindex local variables
20834 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20835 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20836 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20837 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20838 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20843 @node Score File Editing
20844 @section Score File Editing
20846 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20847 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20848 with a mode for that.
20850 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20851 additional commands:
20856 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20857 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
20858 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20859 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
20862 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20863 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20864 Insert the current date in numerical format
20865 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20866 you were wondering.
20869 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20870 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20871 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20872 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20873 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20878 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20880 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20881 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20883 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20884 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20887 @node Adaptive Scoring
20888 @section Adaptive Scoring
20889 @cindex adaptive scoring
20891 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20892 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20893 stupidity, to be precise.
20895 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20896 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20897 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20898 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20899 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20900 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20901 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20902 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20903 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20905 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20906 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20907 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20908 might look something like this:
20911 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20912 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20913 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20914 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20915 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20916 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20917 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20918 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20919 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20920 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20921 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20922 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20925 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20926 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20927 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20928 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20929 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20930 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20933 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20934 will be applied to each article.
20936 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20937 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20938 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20939 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20941 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20942 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20943 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20944 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20946 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20947 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20948 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20949 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20951 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20952 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20953 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20954 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20955 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20956 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20958 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20959 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20960 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20962 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20963 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20964 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20966 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20967 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20968 let you use different rules in different groups.
20970 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20971 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20972 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20975 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20976 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20977 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20978 deafult) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20980 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20981 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20982 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20983 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20984 the length of the match is less than
20985 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20986 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20989 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20990 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20991 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20992 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20993 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20996 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20997 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20998 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20999 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
21000 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
21003 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
21004 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
21005 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
21006 score with 30 points.
21008 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
21009 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
21010 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
21011 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
21012 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
21014 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
21015 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
21016 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
21017 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
21018 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
21020 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
21021 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
21022 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
21023 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
21025 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
21026 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
21027 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
21028 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
21030 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
21031 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
21032 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
21033 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
21034 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
21036 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
21037 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
21038 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
21040 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
21041 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
21042 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
21043 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
21046 @node Home Score File
21047 @section Home Score File
21049 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
21050 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
21051 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
21052 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
21054 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
21055 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
21056 could perhaps use the same home score file.
21058 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
21059 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
21064 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
21068 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
21069 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
21073 A list. The elements in this list can be:
21077 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
21078 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
21081 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
21082 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
21083 name of the group as the parameter.
21086 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
21089 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
21094 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
21097 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21098 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
21101 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
21102 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
21104 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
21106 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21107 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
21110 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
21111 Other functions include
21114 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
21115 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
21116 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
21117 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
21121 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
21122 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
21123 their own home score files:
21126 (setq gnus-home-score-file
21127 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
21128 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
21129 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
21130 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
21133 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
21134 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
21135 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
21136 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
21137 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
21139 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
21140 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
21141 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
21142 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
21143 precedence over this variable.
21146 @node Followups To Yourself
21147 @section Followups To Yourself
21149 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
21150 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
21151 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
21152 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
21153 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
21154 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
21158 @item gnus-score-followup-article
21159 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
21160 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
21163 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
21164 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
21165 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
21169 @vindex message-sent-hook
21170 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
21171 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
21173 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
21177 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
21178 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
21182 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21183 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
21186 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
21187 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
21192 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
21196 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
21197 is system-dependent.
21200 @node Scoring On Other Headers
21201 @section Scoring On Other Headers
21202 @cindex scoring on other headers
21204 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
21205 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
21206 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
21207 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
21208 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
21210 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
21211 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
21212 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
21213 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
21214 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
21216 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21219 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
21220 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
21223 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
21224 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
21225 time if you have much mail.
21227 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
21228 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
21232 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
21233 You can inhibit scoring the slow scoring on headers or body by setting
21234 the variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
21235 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
21236 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
21237 inhibited for all groups.
21241 @section Scoring Tips
21242 @cindex scoring tips
21248 @cindex scoring crossposts
21249 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
21250 the @code{Xref} header.
21252 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
21255 @item Multiple crossposts
21256 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
21257 more than, say, 3 groups:
21260 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
21264 @item Matching on the body
21265 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
21266 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
21267 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
21268 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
21269 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
21270 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
21271 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
21274 @item Marking as read
21275 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
21276 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
21277 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
21281 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
21283 @item Negated character classes
21284 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
21285 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
21286 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
21290 @node Reverse Scoring
21291 @section Reverse Scoring
21292 @cindex reverse scoring
21294 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
21295 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
21296 like this in your score file:
21300 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
21305 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
21306 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
21309 @node Global Score Files
21310 @section Global Score Files
21311 @cindex global score files
21313 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
21314 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
21315 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
21317 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
21318 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
21319 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
21321 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
21322 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
21323 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
21324 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
21325 files are applicable to which group.
21327 To use the score file
21328 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
21329 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
21333 (setq gnus-global-score-files
21334 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
21335 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
21338 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
21340 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
21341 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
21342 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
21343 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
21345 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
21346 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
21348 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
21349 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
21350 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
21351 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
21352 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
21353 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
21355 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
21361 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
21363 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
21365 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
21367 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
21368 lowered out of existence.
21370 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
21371 articles completely.
21374 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
21375 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
21376 old articles for a long time.
21379 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
21380 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
21381 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
21382 holding our breath yet?
21386 @section Kill Files
21389 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
21390 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
21391 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
21393 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
21394 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
21395 files into score files.
21397 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
21398 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
21399 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
21400 that isn't a very good idea.
21402 Normal kill files look like this:
21405 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21406 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
21410 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
21411 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
21413 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
21414 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
21417 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
21422 @kindex M-k (Summary)
21423 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
21424 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
21427 @kindex M-K (Summary)
21428 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
21429 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
21432 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
21437 @kindex M-k (Group)
21438 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
21439 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
21442 @kindex M-K (Group)
21443 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
21444 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
21447 Kill file variables:
21450 @item gnus-kill-file-name
21451 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
21452 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
21453 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
21454 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
21455 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
21456 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
21458 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21459 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
21460 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
21461 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
21464 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
21465 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
21466 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
21467 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
21468 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
21469 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
21470 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
21471 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
21472 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
21474 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21475 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
21476 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
21481 @node Converting Kill Files
21482 @section Converting Kill Files
21484 @cindex converting kill files
21486 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
21487 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
21488 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
21491 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
21492 You can fetch it from
21493 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
21495 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
21496 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
21497 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
21501 @node Advanced Scoring
21502 @section Advanced Scoring
21504 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
21505 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
21506 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
21507 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
21508 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
21510 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
21514 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
21515 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
21516 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
21520 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
21521 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
21523 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
21524 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
21525 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
21526 non-@code{nil} value.
21528 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
21529 operator, and various match operators.
21536 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21537 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
21538 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
21543 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
21544 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
21545 then this operator will return @code{false}.
21550 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
21551 logical negation of the value of its argument.
21555 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
21556 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
21557 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
21558 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
21559 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
21560 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
21561 the ancestry you want to go.
21563 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
21564 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
21565 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
21566 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
21567 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
21570 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
21571 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
21573 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
21574 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
21577 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
21578 when he's talking about Gnus:
21583 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21584 ("subject" "Gnus"))
21591 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
21595 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21602 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
21603 really don't want to read what he's written:
21607 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
21608 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
21612 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
21613 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
21614 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
21621 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
21622 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
21623 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
21624 ("body" "white.*socks"))
21628 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
21629 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
21630 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
21631 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
21634 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21636 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
21640 The possibilities are endless.
21642 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
21643 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
21645 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
21646 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
21647 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
21648 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
21649 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
21650 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
21651 @samp{subject}) first.
21653 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
21654 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
21665 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
21666 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
21672 ("subject" "Gnus")))
21679 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
21680 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
21685 @section Score Decays
21686 @cindex score decays
21689 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
21690 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
21691 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
21692 use them in any sensible way.
21694 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
21695 @findex gnus-decay-score
21696 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
21697 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
21698 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
21699 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
21700 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
21701 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21702 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21703 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21704 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21705 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21709 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21710 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21711 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21713 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21715 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21717 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21718 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21719 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21720 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21721 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21723 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21727 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21728 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21729 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21730 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21734 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21737 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21740 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21744 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21745 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21746 the new score, which should be an integer.
21748 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21749 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21754 @include message.texi
21755 @chapter Emacs MIME
21756 @include emacs-mime.texi
21758 @include sieve.texi
21770 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
21771 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
21772 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
21773 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
21774 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
21775 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
21776 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
21777 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
21778 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
21779 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
21780 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
21781 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
21782 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
21783 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
21784 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
21785 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
21786 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
21787 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
21788 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
21789 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
21790 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
21791 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
21795 @node Process/Prefix
21796 @section Process/Prefix
21797 @cindex process/prefix convention
21799 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
21800 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
21802 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
21803 command to be performed on.
21807 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
21808 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
21809 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
21810 with the current one.
21812 @vindex transient-mark-mode
21813 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
21814 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
21816 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
21817 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
21820 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
21821 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
21823 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
21826 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
21827 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
21828 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
21829 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
21831 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
21832 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
21833 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
21834 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
21835 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
21836 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
21837 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
21838 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
21840 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
21841 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
21842 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
21843 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
21844 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
21848 @section Interactive
21849 @cindex interaction
21853 @item gnus-novice-user
21854 @vindex gnus-novice-user
21855 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
21856 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
21857 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
21858 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
21861 @item gnus-expert-user
21862 @vindex gnus-expert-user
21863 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
21864 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
21865 matter how strange.
21867 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
21868 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
21869 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
21870 is @code{t} by default.
21872 @item gnus-interactive-exit
21873 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
21874 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21879 @node Symbolic Prefixes
21880 @section Symbolic Prefixes
21881 @cindex symbolic prefixes
21883 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
21884 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
21885 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
21886 rule of 900 to the current article.
21888 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
21889 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
21890 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
21891 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
21892 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
21893 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
21894 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
21896 @kindex M-i (Summary)
21897 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
21898 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
21899 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
21900 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
21901 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
21902 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
21903 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
21904 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
21906 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
21907 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
21908 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
21910 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
21914 @node Formatting Variables
21915 @section Formatting Variables
21916 @cindex formatting variables
21918 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
21919 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
21920 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
21921 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
21922 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
21925 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
21926 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
21927 lots of percentages everywhere.
21930 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
21931 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
21932 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
21933 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
21934 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
21935 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
21936 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
21937 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
21940 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
21941 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
21942 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
21943 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
21944 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
21945 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
21946 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
21947 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
21949 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
21950 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
21952 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
21953 @findex gnus-update-format
21954 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
21955 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
21956 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
21957 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
21961 @node Formatting Basics
21962 @subsection Formatting Basics
21964 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
21965 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
21966 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
21968 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
21969 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
21970 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
21971 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
21972 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
21975 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
21976 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
21977 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
21978 less than 4 characters wide.
21980 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
21981 @samp{%&user-date;}.
21984 @node Mode Line Formatting
21985 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
21987 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
21988 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
21989 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
21990 with the following two differences:
21995 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
21998 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
21999 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
22000 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
22001 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
22002 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
22003 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
22004 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
22009 @node Advanced Formatting
22010 @subsection Advanced Formatting
22012 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
22013 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
22014 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
22015 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
22017 These are the valid modifiers:
22022 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
22026 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
22031 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
22034 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
22039 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
22042 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
22045 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
22048 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22054 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22059 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22060 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22061 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22062 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22063 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22064 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22065 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22067 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22068 last operation, padding.
22070 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
22071 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
22072 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
22073 @xref{Compilation}.
22076 @node User-Defined Specs
22077 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22079 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22080 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22081 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22082 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22083 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22084 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22085 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22086 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22087 should protect against that.
22089 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22090 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22092 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22093 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22094 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22095 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22099 @node Formatting Fonts
22100 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22102 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22103 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22104 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22105 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22108 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22109 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22110 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22111 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22112 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22113 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22115 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22116 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22117 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22118 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22119 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22120 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22121 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22122 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22123 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22124 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22125 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22128 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22131 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22132 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22133 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22135 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22136 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22137 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22138 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22139 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22140 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22141 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22143 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22144 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22145 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22148 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22149 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22151 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22152 mode-line variables.
22154 @node Positioning Point
22155 @subsection Positioning Point
22157 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22158 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22159 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22161 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22163 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22164 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22165 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22167 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22168 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22169 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22174 @subsection Tabulation
22176 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22177 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22178 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22179 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22181 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22182 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22184 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22185 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22186 This is the soft tabulator.
22188 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22189 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22190 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22193 @node Wide Characters
22194 @subsection Wide Characters
22196 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22197 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22198 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22200 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22201 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22202 these countries, that's not true.
22204 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22205 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22206 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22207 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22211 @node Window Layout
22212 @section Window Layout
22213 @cindex window layout
22215 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22217 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22218 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22219 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22220 @code{t} by default.
22222 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22223 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22225 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22226 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22227 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22230 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
22231 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
22232 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22236 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22237 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22238 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22239 possible names is listed below.
22241 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22242 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22245 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22249 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22250 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22251 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22252 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22253 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22254 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22255 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22256 size spec per split.
22258 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22259 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22260 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22261 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22262 present) gets focus.
22264 Here's a more complicated example:
22267 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22268 (summary 0.25 point)
22269 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
22273 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22274 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22275 occupy, not a percentage.
22277 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22278 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22279 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22280 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
22281 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
22284 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22287 (article (horizontal 1.0
22292 (summary 0.25 point)
22297 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22298 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22300 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22301 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22302 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22303 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22304 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22306 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22307 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22308 lines from the splits.
22310 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22315 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22316 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22317 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22318 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22319 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22320 size = number | frame-params
22321 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22325 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22326 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22327 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22328 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22330 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22331 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22332 @cindex window height
22333 @cindex window width
22334 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22335 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22336 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22337 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22338 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22339 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22341 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22342 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22343 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22344 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22346 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22347 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22348 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22349 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22350 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22351 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22352 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22353 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22354 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22355 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22356 configuration list.
22359 (gnus-configure-frame
22363 (article 0.3 point))
22371 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22372 @code{frame} split:
22375 (gnus-configure-frame
22378 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22380 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22381 (user-position . t)
22382 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22387 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22388 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22389 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22390 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22391 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22392 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22393 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22394 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22396 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22397 be found in its default value.
22399 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22400 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22401 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22405 (message (horizontal 1.0
22406 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22408 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22413 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22414 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22415 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22420 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22421 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22422 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22423 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22424 (name . "Message"))
22425 (message 1.0 point))))
22428 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22429 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22430 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22431 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22432 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22435 (gnus-add-configuration
22436 '(article (vertical 1.0
22438 (summary .25 point)
22442 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22443 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22444 Gnus has been loaded.
22446 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22447 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22448 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22449 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22450 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22452 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22453 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22454 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22457 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22461 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22462 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22477 (gnus-add-configuration
22480 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22482 (summary 0.16 point)
22485 (gnus-add-configuration
22488 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22489 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22495 @node Faces and Fonts
22496 @section Faces and Fonts
22501 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22502 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22503 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22508 @section Compilation
22509 @cindex compilation
22510 @cindex byte-compilation
22512 @findex gnus-compile
22514 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22515 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22516 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22517 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22518 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22519 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22522 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22523 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22524 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22525 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22526 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22527 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22528 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22532 @section Mode Lines
22535 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22536 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22537 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22538 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22539 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22540 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22541 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22544 @cindex display-time
22546 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22547 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22548 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22549 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22550 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22551 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22552 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22553 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22556 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22558 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22559 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22561 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22562 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22563 (length display-time-string)))))
22566 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22567 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22568 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22569 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22570 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22573 @node Highlighting and Menus
22574 @section Highlighting and Menus
22576 @cindex highlighting
22579 @vindex gnus-visual
22580 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22581 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22582 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22585 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22586 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22589 @item group-highlight
22590 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22591 @item summary-highlight
22592 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22593 @item article-highlight
22594 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22596 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22598 Create menus in the group buffer.
22600 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22602 Create menus in the article buffer.
22604 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22606 Create menus in the server buffer.
22608 Create menus in the score buffers.
22610 Create menus in all buffers.
22613 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22614 buffers, you could say something like:
22617 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22620 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22623 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22626 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22627 in all Gnus buffers.
22629 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22632 @item gnus-mouse-face
22633 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22634 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
22635 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
22639 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
22643 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
22644 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
22645 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
22647 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
22648 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
22649 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
22651 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
22652 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
22653 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
22655 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
22656 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
22657 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
22659 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
22660 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
22661 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
22663 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
22664 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
22665 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
22676 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
22677 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
22678 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
22679 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
22680 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
22684 @vindex gnus-carpal
22685 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
22686 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
22687 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
22692 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22693 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
22694 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
22696 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
22697 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
22698 Face used on buttons.
22700 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
22701 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
22702 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
22704 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22705 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
22706 Buttons in the group buffer.
22708 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22709 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
22710 Buttons in the summary buffer.
22712 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22713 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
22714 Buttons in the server buffer.
22716 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22717 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
22718 Buttons in the browse buffer.
22721 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
22722 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
22723 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
22731 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
22732 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
22733 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
22734 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
22735 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
22737 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
22738 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
22739 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
22741 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
22742 been idle for thirty minutes:
22745 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
22748 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
22752 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
22755 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
22756 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
22757 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22759 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
22760 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
22761 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
22762 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
22764 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
22765 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
22766 @var{idle} minutes.
22768 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
22769 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
22772 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
22773 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
22774 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
22776 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
22777 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
22778 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
22779 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
22781 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
22782 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22784 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
22786 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
22789 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
22790 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
22791 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
22792 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
22793 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
22794 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
22795 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
22796 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
22797 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
22798 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
22799 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
22801 @findex gnus-demon-init
22802 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
22803 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
22804 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
22805 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
22806 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
22808 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
22809 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
22810 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
22819 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
22820 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
22822 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
22823 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
22824 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
22825 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
22828 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
22829 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
22830 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
22831 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
22833 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
22834 this will make spam disappear.
22836 There are some variables to customize, of course:
22839 @item gnus-use-nocem
22840 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
22841 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
22844 You can also set this variable to a positive number as a group level.
22845 In that case, Gnus scans NoCeM messages when checking new news if this
22846 value is not exceeding a group level that you specify as the prefix
22847 argument to some commands, e.g. @code{gnus},
22848 @code{gnus-group-get-new-news}, etc. Otherwise, Gnus does not scan
22849 NoCeM messages if you specify a group level to those commands. For
22850 example, if you use 1 or 2 on the mail groups and the levels on the news
22851 groups remain the default, 3 is the best choice.
22853 @item gnus-nocem-groups
22854 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
22855 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
22858 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
22859 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
22862 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
22863 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
22864 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
22865 people you want to listen to. The default is
22867 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
22868 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
22870 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
22872 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
22873 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
22875 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
22876 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
22877 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
22878 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
22879 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
22880 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
22881 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
22882 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
22883 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
22884 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
22886 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
22887 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
22890 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
22893 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
22894 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
22897 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
22900 The specs are applied left-to-right.
22903 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
22904 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
22906 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
22907 says she is. The default is @code{pgg-verify}, which returns
22908 non-@code{nil} if the verification is successful, otherwise (including
22909 the case the NoCeM message was not signed) returns @code{nil}. If this
22910 is too slow and you don't care for verification (which may be dangerous),
22911 you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
22913 Formerly the default was @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
22914 function. While you can still use it, you can change it into
22915 @code{pgg-verify} running with GnuPG if you are willing to add the
22916 @acronym{PGP} public keys to GnuPG's keyring.
22918 @item gnus-nocem-directory
22919 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
22920 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
22921 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
22923 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22924 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
22925 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
22926 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
22927 might then see old spam.
22929 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
22930 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
22931 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
22932 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
22933 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
22936 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22937 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
22938 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
22939 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
22943 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
22944 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
22945 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
22946 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
22953 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
22954 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
22955 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
22957 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
22958 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
22959 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
22960 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
22961 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
22962 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
22963 @code{undo} function.
22965 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
22966 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
22967 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
22968 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
22969 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
22970 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
22971 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
22972 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
22973 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
22974 never be totally undoable.
22976 @findex gnus-undo-mode
22977 @vindex gnus-use-undo
22979 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
22980 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
22981 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
22982 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
22986 @node Predicate Specifiers
22987 @section Predicate Specifiers
22988 @cindex predicate specifiers
22990 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
22991 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
22992 to type all that much.
22994 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
22999 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
23000 gnus-article-unread-p)
23003 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
23004 functions all take one parameter.
23006 @findex gnus-make-predicate
23007 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
23008 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
23009 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
23014 @section Moderation
23017 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
23018 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
23019 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
23022 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
23026 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
23029 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
23031 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
23036 You split your incoming mail by matching on
23037 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
23038 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
23041 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
23042 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
23045 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
23046 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
23050 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
23053 (setq gnus-moderated-list
23054 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
23058 @node Fetching a Group
23059 @section Fetching a Group
23060 @cindex fetching a group
23062 @findex gnus-fetch-group
23063 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
23064 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
23065 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
23066 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
23067 It takes the group name as a parameter.
23070 @node Image Enhancements
23071 @section Image Enhancements
23073 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
23074 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
23075 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
23078 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
23079 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
23080 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
23081 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
23082 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
23090 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
23091 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
23092 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
23096 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
23097 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
23098 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
23106 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
23107 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
23108 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
23109 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
23110 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
23111 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
23112 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
23113 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
23114 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
23115 @code{display} program.
23117 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
23118 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
23119 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
23120 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
23121 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
23122 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
23123 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
23124 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
23126 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
23127 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
23128 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
23129 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
23130 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
23131 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
23133 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
23141 @vindex gnus-x-face
23142 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
23143 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
23144 default colors are black and white.
23146 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
23147 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
23148 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
23149 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
23150 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
23151 XEmacs. Here are examples:
23154 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
23155 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23156 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
23157 (png . (:ascent 80))))
23159 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
23160 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23161 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
23162 (png . (:relief -2))))
23165 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
23166 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
23167 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
23168 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
23169 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
23170 @samp{libcompface} library.
23173 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
23174 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
23175 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
23176 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
23177 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
23178 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
23180 @findex gnus-random-x-face
23181 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
23182 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
23183 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23184 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23185 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23186 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23187 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23188 header data as a string.
23190 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23191 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23192 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23193 randomly generated data.
23195 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23196 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23197 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23198 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23199 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23201 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23202 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23205 (setq message-required-news-headers
23206 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23207 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23210 Using the last function would be something like this:
23213 (setq message-required-news-headers
23214 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23215 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23216 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23217 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23225 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23227 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23228 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23229 represent the author of the message.
23232 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23233 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23234 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23237 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23238 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23240 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23243 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23245 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23247 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23248 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23250 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23251 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23252 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23254 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23255 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23256 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23257 converts the file to Face format by using the
23258 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23260 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23261 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23264 (setq message-required-news-headers
23265 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23266 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23267 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23272 @subsection Smileys
23277 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23282 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23283 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23285 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23286 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23289 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23292 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23293 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23294 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23295 text and maps that to file names.
23297 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23298 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23299 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23300 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23301 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23304 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
23309 @item smiley-data-directory
23310 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23311 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
23313 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23314 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23315 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23329 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23330 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23331 over your shoulder as you read news.
23333 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23342 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23343 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23344 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23345 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23346 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23347 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23348 @code{GIF} formats.
23351 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23352 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23353 point your Web browser at
23354 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23356 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23357 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23359 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23360 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23363 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23364 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23365 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23366 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23368 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23372 @item gnus-picon-databases
23373 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23374 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23375 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23376 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23377 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23379 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23380 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23381 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23382 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23384 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23385 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23386 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23387 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23389 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23390 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23391 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23392 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23393 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23395 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23396 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23397 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23398 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23404 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23407 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23408 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23409 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23410 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23411 unusual directory structure.
23413 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23414 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23415 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23420 @subsubsection Toolbar
23424 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23425 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23426 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23427 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23428 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23429 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23430 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23431 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23433 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23434 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23435 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23436 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23437 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23438 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23440 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23441 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23442 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23444 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23445 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23446 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23448 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23449 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23450 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23461 @node Fuzzy Matching
23462 @section Fuzzy Matching
23463 @cindex fuzzy matching
23465 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23466 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23468 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23469 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23470 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23472 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23473 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23474 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23475 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23476 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23479 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23480 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23484 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23486 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23487 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23488 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23489 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23490 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23491 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23492 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23493 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23496 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23497 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23498 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23499 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23500 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23501 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23503 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23506 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23507 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23508 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23509 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23512 @node The problem of spam
23513 @subsection The problem of spam
23515 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23516 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23518 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23520 First, some background on spam.
23522 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23523 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23524 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23525 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23526 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23527 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23528 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23529 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23530 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23532 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23533 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23534 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23535 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23536 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23537 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23538 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23539 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23540 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23543 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23544 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23545 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23546 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23547 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23548 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23549 from Bulgarian IPs.
23551 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23552 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23553 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23554 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23556 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23557 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23558 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23559 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23561 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23562 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23563 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23564 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23565 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23566 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23567 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23568 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23569 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23571 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23572 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23573 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23574 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23575 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23576 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23577 down for some time because of the incident.
23579 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23580 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23581 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23582 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23583 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23584 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23585 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23586 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23587 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23588 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23589 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23591 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23592 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23593 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23594 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23595 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23596 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23597 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23600 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23601 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23605 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23607 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23608 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23610 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23611 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23612 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23613 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23614 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23615 part of the mail address.)
23618 (setq message-default-news-headers
23619 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23622 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23623 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23627 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23628 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23629 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23634 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23635 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23636 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23637 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23639 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23640 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23641 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23642 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23643 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23644 your fancy split rule in this way:
23649 (to "larsi" "misc")
23653 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23654 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23655 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23656 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23657 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23659 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23660 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23661 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23662 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23664 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23668 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23669 @cindex SpamAssassin
23670 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23673 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23674 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23675 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23676 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23677 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23678 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23679 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23681 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23682 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23683 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23686 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23687 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23688 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23689 Specifiers}) follow.
23693 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23697 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23700 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23701 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23702 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23705 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23709 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23712 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23713 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23717 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23718 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23719 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23720 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23723 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23725 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23729 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23730 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23734 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23735 downloaded by default. You need to set
23736 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23737 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
23739 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23740 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23741 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23744 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23745 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23747 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
23748 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
23749 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23753 @subsection Hashcash
23756 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23757 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23758 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23759 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23760 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23762 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23763 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23764 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23765 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23766 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
23767 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
23768 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
23769 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
23770 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
23771 one of them separately.
23774 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
23775 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
23776 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
23777 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
23778 need to install to use this feature, see
23779 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
23780 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
23782 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
23783 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
23784 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
23787 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
23790 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
23794 @item hashcash-default-payment
23795 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
23796 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
23797 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
23800 @item hashcash-payment-alist
23801 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
23802 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
23803 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
23804 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
23805 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
23806 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
23807 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
23808 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
23810 @item hashcash-path
23811 @vindex hashcash-path
23812 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
23813 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
23814 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
23815 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
23816 when you generate hashcash payments.
23820 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
23821 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
23822 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
23823 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
23824 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
23825 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
23826 Hashcash Payments}).
23829 @section Spam Package
23830 @cindex spam filtering
23833 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
23834 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
23835 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
23836 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
23839 * Spam Package Introduction::
23840 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
23841 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
23842 * Spam and Ham Processors::
23843 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
23845 * Extending the Spam package::
23846 * Spam Statistics Package::
23849 @node Spam Package Introduction
23850 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
23851 @cindex spam filtering
23852 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
23855 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
23856 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
23858 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
23859 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
23861 @cindex spam-initialize
23862 @vindex spam-use-stat
23863 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
23864 @code{spam-initialize}:
23870 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
23871 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
23872 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
23873 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
23874 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
23876 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
23877 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
23879 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
23880 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
23882 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
23883 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
23884 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
23885 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
23886 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
23888 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
23889 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
23890 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
23891 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
23892 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
23895 @cindex spam back ends
23896 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
23897 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
23898 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
23899 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
23900 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
23902 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
23903 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
23905 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
23906 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
23907 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
23908 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
23909 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
23910 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
23911 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
23913 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
23914 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
23915 point, the Spam package does several things:
23917 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
23918 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
23919 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
23920 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
23921 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
23922 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
23923 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
23924 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
23927 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
23928 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
23938 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23939 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
23940 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
23941 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
23945 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
23946 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
23948 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
23949 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
23950 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
23951 to be processed as ham by setting
23952 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
23953 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
23955 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
23956 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
23957 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
23958 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
23959 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
23960 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
23961 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
23962 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
23963 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
23964 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
23965 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
23966 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
23968 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
23969 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
23970 want each article to be processed only once, load the
23971 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
23972 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
23973 Configuration Examples}.
23975 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
23976 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
23977 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
23978 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
23980 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
23981 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
23983 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
23984 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
23985 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
23987 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
23988 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
23989 @cindex spam filtering
23990 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
23993 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
23994 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
23995 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
23996 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
23997 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
24003 @vindex spam-split-group
24005 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
24006 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
24007 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
24008 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
24009 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
24010 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
24011 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
24012 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
24013 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
24015 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
24017 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
24018 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
24019 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
24020 you should also set set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body}
24021 to @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can
24022 ``scan'' the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only
24023 retrieves the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells
24024 it to retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by
24025 default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
24026 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Splitting
24029 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
24030 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
24031 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
24032 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
24033 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
24034 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
24035 ends, and the following split rule:
24038 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24039 (any "ding" "ding")
24041 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24046 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
24047 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
24048 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
24049 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
24050 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
24051 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
24053 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
24054 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
24055 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
24056 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
24061 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
24062 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24063 (any "ding" "ding")
24064 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
24066 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24071 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
24072 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
24073 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
24074 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
24075 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
24076 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
24077 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
24079 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24080 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24081 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24082 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24084 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
24085 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
24088 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
24089 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
24091 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
24092 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
24093 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
24094 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24096 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24097 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24098 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24099 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
24101 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
24102 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
24103 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
24105 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
24106 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
24107 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
24108 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
24109 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
24110 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
24111 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
24113 @node Spam and Ham Processors
24114 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
24115 @cindex spam filtering
24116 @cindex spam filtering variables
24117 @cindex spam variables
24120 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
24121 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
24122 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
24123 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
24124 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
24125 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
24126 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
24128 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
24129 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
24130 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
24131 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
24133 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24134 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
24135 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
24136 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
24137 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
24138 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
24139 by customizing the corresponding variable
24140 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
24141 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
24142 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
24143 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
24144 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
24145 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
24146 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
24149 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
24151 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
24152 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
24153 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
24154 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
24155 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
24156 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
24157 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
24158 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
24159 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
24160 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
24161 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
24162 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
24163 processor which will study them as spam samples.
24165 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
24166 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
24167 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
24168 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
24169 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
24170 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
24171 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
24172 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
24175 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24176 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
24177 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
24178 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
24179 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
24180 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
24181 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24186 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24187 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24188 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24189 you really want to.
24192 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24193 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24194 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24195 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24196 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24197 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24200 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24201 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24202 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24203 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24204 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24205 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24206 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24207 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24208 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24209 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24210 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24211 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24212 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24213 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24214 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24216 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24217 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24219 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24220 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24221 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24223 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24224 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24226 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24227 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24228 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24229 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24230 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24232 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24233 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24234 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24235 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24236 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24239 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24240 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24241 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24242 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24243 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24244 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24245 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24246 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24247 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24248 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24249 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24250 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24251 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24253 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24254 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24256 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24257 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24260 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24261 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24262 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24263 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24264 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24265 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24266 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24268 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24269 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24270 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24271 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24273 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24274 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24275 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24276 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24277 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24278 from the mail server.
24280 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24281 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24282 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24283 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24285 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24286 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24287 @cindex spam filtering
24288 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24289 @cindex spam configuration examples
24292 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24294 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24296 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24297 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24298 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24302 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24304 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24305 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24306 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24307 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24308 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24309 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24310 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24311 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24312 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
24313 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24314 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24315 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24316 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24317 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24318 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24319 (any "ding" "ding")
24320 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24322 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24325 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24327 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24328 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24329 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24330 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24332 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24334 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24335 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24336 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24337 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24338 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24340 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24341 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24343 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24345 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24346 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24348 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24349 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24350 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24352 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24354 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24355 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24357 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24358 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24359 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24361 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24362 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24363 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24364 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24366 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24367 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24368 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24372 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24373 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24375 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24376 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24377 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24378 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24379 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24380 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24381 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24382 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24383 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24385 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24386 does most of the job for me:
24389 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24390 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24391 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24392 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24393 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24394 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24395 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24400 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24402 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24403 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24404 bogofilter or DCC).
24406 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24407 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24408 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24409 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24410 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24411 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24412 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24414 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24415 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24416 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24417 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24418 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24419 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24421 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24423 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24424 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24425 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24426 @samp{training.spam}.
24429 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24431 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24433 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24434 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24435 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24439 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24442 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24443 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24444 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24445 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24446 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24448 @node Spam Back Ends
24449 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24450 @cindex spam back ends
24452 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24453 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24454 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24455 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24459 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24460 * BBDB Whitelists::
24461 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24462 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24464 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24466 * SpamAssassin back end::
24467 * ifile spam filtering::
24468 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24472 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24473 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24474 @cindex spam filtering
24475 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24476 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24479 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24481 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24482 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24483 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24484 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24489 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24491 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24492 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24493 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24494 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24495 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24499 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24501 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24502 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24503 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24507 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24509 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24510 customizing the group parameters or the
24511 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24512 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24513 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24517 Instead of the obsolete
24518 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24519 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24520 the same way, we promise.
24524 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24526 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24527 customizing the group parameters or the
24528 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24529 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24530 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24535 Instead of the obsolete
24536 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24537 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24538 the same way, we promise.
24542 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24543 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24544 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24545 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24546 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24548 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24549 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24550 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24551 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24553 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24554 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24555 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24556 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24557 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24558 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24560 @node BBDB Whitelists
24561 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24562 @cindex spam filtering
24563 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24564 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24567 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24569 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24570 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24571 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24572 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24573 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24574 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24575 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24579 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24581 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24582 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24583 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24584 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24585 classified as spammers.
24587 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24588 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24589 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24590 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24595 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24597 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24598 customizing the group parameters or the
24599 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24600 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24601 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24606 Instead of the obsolete
24607 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24608 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24609 the same way, we promise.
24613 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24614 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24615 @cindex spam reporting
24616 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24617 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24620 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24622 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24623 customizing the group parameters or the
24624 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24625 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24626 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24629 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24633 Instead of the obsolete
24634 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24635 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24636 same way, we promise.
24640 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24642 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24643 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24644 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24645 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24646 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24650 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24652 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24653 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24654 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24658 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24659 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24660 @cindex spam filtering
24661 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24664 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24666 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24667 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24668 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24669 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24670 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24671 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24676 @subsubsection Blackholes
24677 @cindex spam filtering
24678 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24681 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24683 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24684 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24685 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24686 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24687 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24688 contains outdated servers.
24690 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24691 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24692 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24693 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24694 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24695 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24699 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24701 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24705 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24707 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24708 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24712 @defvar spam-use-dig
24714 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24715 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24719 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24720 ham processor for blackholes.
24722 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24723 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24724 @cindex spam filtering
24725 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24728 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24730 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24731 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24732 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24733 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24734 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24735 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24739 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24741 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24742 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24746 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24748 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24749 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24753 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24754 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24757 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24758 @cindex spam filtering
24759 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24762 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24764 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24767 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
24768 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
24769 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
24770 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
24771 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
24772 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
24774 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
24775 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
24778 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
24779 processing will be turned off.
24781 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
24790 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
24791 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
24794 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
24796 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
24797 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
24798 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
24799 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
24800 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
24801 installation documents for details.
24803 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
24807 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
24808 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24809 customizing the group parameters or the
24810 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24811 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
24812 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
24816 Instead of the obsolete
24817 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24818 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24819 the same way, we promise.
24822 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
24823 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24824 customizing the group parameters or the
24825 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24826 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24827 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
24828 of non-spam messages.
24832 Instead of the obsolete
24833 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
24834 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
24835 the same way, we promise.
24838 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
24840 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
24841 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
24842 database directory.
24846 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
24847 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24848 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
24849 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
24850 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
24851 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
24853 @node SpamAssassin back end
24854 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
24855 @cindex spam filtering
24856 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
24859 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
24861 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
24863 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
24864 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
24865 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
24866 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
24869 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
24870 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
24871 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
24872 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
24875 You should not enable this if you use
24876 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
24880 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
24882 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
24883 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
24885 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
24889 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
24891 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
24892 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
24893 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
24894 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
24898 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
24899 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
24900 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
24901 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
24902 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
24903 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
24904 to test this functionality.
24906 @node ifile spam filtering
24907 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
24908 @cindex spam filtering
24909 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
24912 @defvar spam-use-ifile
24914 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
24915 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
24919 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
24921 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
24922 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
24923 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
24927 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
24929 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
24930 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
24931 the default value of @samp{spam}.
24934 @defvar spam-ifile-database
24936 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
24937 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
24941 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
24942 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
24943 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
24944 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
24947 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
24948 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
24949 @cindex spam filtering
24950 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
24954 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
24955 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
24956 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
24957 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
24958 spam-stat dictionary}.
24960 @defvar spam-use-stat
24964 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
24965 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24966 customizing the group parameters or the
24967 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24968 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24969 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
24973 Instead of the obsolete
24974 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24975 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24976 the same way, we promise.
24979 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
24980 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24981 customizing the group parameters or the
24982 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24983 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
24984 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
24985 of non-spam messages.
24989 Instead of the obsolete
24990 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
24991 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
24992 the same way, we promise.
24995 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
24996 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
24997 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
24998 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
24999 @code{spam-split} are provided.
25002 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
25003 @cindex spam filtering
25007 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
25008 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
25009 installed separately.
25011 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
25012 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
25013 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
25014 mail as a spam mail or not.
25016 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
25017 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
25018 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
25020 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
25023 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
25024 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
25025 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
25026 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
25027 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
25028 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
25029 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
25030 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
25033 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
25034 spam-split-group "Junk"
25035 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
25036 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
25037 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
25040 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
25041 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
25045 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
25046 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
25047 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
25051 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
25052 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
25053 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
25054 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
25055 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
25056 database to live somewhere special, set
25057 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
25060 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
25061 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
25062 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
25063 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
25064 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
25065 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
25066 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
25067 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
25068 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
25069 @xref{Spam Package}.
25071 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
25072 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25073 customizing the group parameter or the
25074 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25075 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
25076 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
25080 Instead of the obsolete
25081 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25082 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25083 the same way, we promise.
25086 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
25087 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25088 customizing the group parameter or the
25089 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25090 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
25091 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
25096 Instead of the obsolete
25097 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25098 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25099 the same way, we promise.
25102 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
25103 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
25106 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
25107 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
25108 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
25110 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
25111 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
25112 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
25113 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
25114 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
25115 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
25117 @node Extending the Spam package
25118 @subsection Extending the Spam package
25119 @cindex spam filtering
25120 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
25121 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
25123 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
25124 incoming mail, provide the following:
25132 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
25133 "True if blackbox should be used.")
25136 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
25138 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
25139 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
25140 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
25141 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
25142 register/unregister spam and ham.
25147 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
25148 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
25149 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
25150 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
25155 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
25162 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
25163 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
25165 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
25166 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
25167 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
25168 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
25171 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
25172 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
25173 Only applicable to spam groups.")
25175 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
25176 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
25177 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25186 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25187 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25189 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25190 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25191 variable customization.
25195 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25197 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25198 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25200 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25201 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25207 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25209 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25210 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25211 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25214 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25216 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25217 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25221 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25223 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25224 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25225 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25229 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25231 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25232 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25233 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25236 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25238 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25239 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25243 @code{spam-install-backend}
25245 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25246 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25247 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25250 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25252 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25253 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25254 never install such a back end.
25259 @node Spam Statistics Package
25260 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25261 @cindex Paul Graham
25262 @cindex Graham, Paul
25263 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25264 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25265 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25267 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25268 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25269 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25270 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25271 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25272 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25273 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25274 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25275 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25278 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25279 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25280 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25281 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25282 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25283 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25284 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25285 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25287 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25288 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25289 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25291 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25292 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25293 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25294 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25295 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25298 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25299 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25300 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25303 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25304 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25306 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25307 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25308 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25309 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25310 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25312 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25313 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25314 per mail. Use the following:
25316 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25317 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25318 is treated as one spam mail.
25321 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25322 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25323 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25326 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25327 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25328 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25329 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25330 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25331 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25333 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25334 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25335 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25336 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25337 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25340 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25341 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25342 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25343 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25346 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25347 reset the dictionary.
25349 @defun spam-stat-reset
25350 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25353 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25354 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25355 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25356 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25357 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25358 only non-spam mails.
25360 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25361 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25362 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25365 @defun spam-stat-save
25366 Save the dictionary.
25369 @defvar spam-stat-file
25370 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25371 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25374 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25375 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25377 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25378 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25380 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25383 (require 'spam-stat)
25387 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25390 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25391 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25392 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25393 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25395 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25396 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25397 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25398 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25401 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25402 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25406 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25407 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25410 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25411 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25412 expression are considered potential spam.
25415 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25416 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25417 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25421 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25422 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25423 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25424 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25425 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25428 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25429 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25430 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25434 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25435 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25436 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25437 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25438 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25442 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25443 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25444 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25445 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25450 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25451 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25453 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25455 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25456 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25457 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25460 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25461 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25462 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25465 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25466 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25467 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25468 already been processed as non-spam.
25471 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25472 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25473 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25474 been processed as spam.
25477 @defun spam-stat-save
25478 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25479 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25482 @defun spam-stat-load
25483 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25484 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25487 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25488 Return the spam score for a word.
25491 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25492 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25495 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25496 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25497 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25500 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25501 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25504 (require 'spam-stat)
25508 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25511 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25512 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25513 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25514 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25515 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25516 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25517 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25518 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25519 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25520 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25521 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25522 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25523 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25524 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25527 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25530 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25531 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25532 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25533 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25534 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25535 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25539 @section Interaction with other modes
25544 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
25545 buffers. It is enabled with
25547 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
25552 @findex gnus-dired-attach
25553 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
25554 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
25555 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
25558 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
25559 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
25560 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
25564 @findex gnus-dired-print
25565 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
25566 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
25569 @node Various Various
25570 @section Various Various
25576 @item gnus-home-directory
25577 @vindex gnus-home-directory
25578 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
25579 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
25581 @item gnus-directory
25582 @vindex gnus-directory
25583 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
25584 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
25585 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
25587 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
25588 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
25589 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
25590 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
25592 @item gnus-default-directory
25593 @vindex gnus-default-directory
25594 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
25595 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
25596 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
25597 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
25598 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
25599 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
25602 @vindex gnus-verbose
25603 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
25604 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
25605 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
25606 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
25607 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
25609 @item gnus-verbose-backends
25610 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
25611 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
25612 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
25614 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
25615 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
25616 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
25617 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
25618 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
25619 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
25620 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
25621 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
25622 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
25623 displayed in the echo area.
25625 @item nnheader-max-head-length
25626 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
25627 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
25628 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
25629 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
25630 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
25631 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
25632 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
25633 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
25634 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
25636 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
25637 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
25638 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
25639 read when doing the operation described above.
25641 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25642 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25644 @cindex invalid characters in file names
25645 @cindex characters in file names
25646 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
25647 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
25648 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
25652 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
25657 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
25658 Windows (phooey) systems.
25660 @item gnus-hidden-properties
25661 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
25662 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
25663 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
25664 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
25666 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
25667 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
25668 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
25669 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
25670 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
25672 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
25673 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
25674 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
25676 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25677 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
25679 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
25680 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
25681 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
25682 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
25685 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
25693 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
25694 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
25696 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
25698 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
25704 Not because of victories @*
25707 but for the common sunshine,@*
25709 the largess of the spring.
25713 but for the day's work done@*
25714 as well as I was able;@*
25715 not for a seat upon the dais@*
25716 but at the common table.@*
25721 @chapter Appendices
25724 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
25725 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
25726 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
25727 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
25728 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
25729 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
25730 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
25731 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
25732 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
25739 @cindex installing under XEmacs
25741 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
25742 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
25743 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
25744 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
25745 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
25746 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
25753 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
25754 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
25756 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
25757 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
25758 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
25759 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
25760 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
25762 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
25763 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
25764 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
25765 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
25766 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
25767 appropriate name, don't you think?)
25769 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
25770 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
25771 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
25772 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
25775 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
25776 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
25777 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
25778 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
25779 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
25780 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
25781 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
25782 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
25783 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
25787 @node Gnus Versions
25788 @subsection Gnus Versions
25790 @cindex September Gnus
25792 @cindex Quassia Gnus
25793 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
25796 @cindex Gnus versions
25798 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
25799 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
25800 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
25802 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
25803 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
25805 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
25806 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
25808 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
25809 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
25811 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
25812 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
25815 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
25816 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
25818 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
25820 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
25821 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
25822 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
25823 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
25824 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
25825 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
25828 @node Other Gnus Versions
25829 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
25832 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
25833 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
25834 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
25835 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
25837 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
25838 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
25839 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
25840 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
25847 What's the point of Gnus?
25849 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
25850 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
25851 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
25852 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
25853 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
25854 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
25855 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
25856 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
25857 keep track of millions of people who post?
25859 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
25860 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
25861 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
25862 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
25863 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
25864 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
25865 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
25866 every one of you to explore and invent.
25868 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
25869 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
25872 @node Compatibility
25873 @subsection Compatibility
25875 @cindex compatibility
25876 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
25877 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
25878 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
25883 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
25887 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
25890 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
25893 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
25894 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
25895 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
25896 important variables have their values copied into their global
25897 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
25898 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
25900 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
25901 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
25902 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
25903 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
25904 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
25908 @cindex highlighting
25909 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
25910 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
25911 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
25912 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
25913 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
25914 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
25917 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
25918 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
25919 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
25920 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
25922 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
25923 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
25924 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
25925 to stop doing it the old way.
25927 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
25929 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
25931 @cindex reporting bugs
25933 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
25934 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
25935 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
25937 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
25938 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
25939 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
25940 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
25945 @subsection Conformity
25947 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
25948 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
25956 There are no known breaches of this standard.
25960 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
25962 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
25963 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
25964 We do have some breaches to this one.
25970 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
25971 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
25972 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
25973 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
25974 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
25979 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
25980 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
25981 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
25982 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
25984 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
25985 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
25986 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
25988 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
25989 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
25991 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
25994 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
25995 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
25996 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
25997 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
25998 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26001 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
26002 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26003 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26004 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26006 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
26007 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26009 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26010 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26011 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26012 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26013 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26014 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26015 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26016 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26020 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26021 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26026 @subsection Emacsen
26032 Gnus should work on:
26040 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26044 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26045 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26046 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26047 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26049 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
26050 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
26051 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
26055 @node Gnus Development
26056 @subsection Gnus Development
26058 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26059 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
26060 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26061 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26062 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26063 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26064 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26065 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
26067 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26068 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26069 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
26070 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26071 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
26074 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26075 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
26076 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
26077 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
26078 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26080 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26081 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26082 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26083 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26084 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26085 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26086 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26087 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26088 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26089 can't be assumed to do so.
26094 @subsection Contributors
26095 @cindex contributors
26097 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26098 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26099 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26100 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26101 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26102 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26103 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26104 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26105 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26106 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26108 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26114 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26117 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
26118 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26119 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26120 functionality and stuff.
26123 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26124 well as numerous other things).
26127 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26130 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26133 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26136 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26139 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26140 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26143 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26146 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26149 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26152 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26155 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
26158 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26161 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26162 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26165 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26168 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26171 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26174 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26178 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26181 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26184 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26187 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26188 well as autoconf support.
26192 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26193 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26195 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26210 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26212 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26216 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26226 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26241 Massimo Campostrini,
26246 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26247 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26251 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26254 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26260 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26265 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26269 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26277 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26279 Michelangelo Grigni,
26283 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26285 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26287 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26295 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26296 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26297 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26299 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26309 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26310 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26312 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26313 Thor Kristoffersen,
26316 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26334 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26335 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26342 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26347 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26351 John McClary Prevost,
26357 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26362 Christian von Roques,
26365 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26372 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26374 Randal L. Schwartz,
26388 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26393 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26413 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26414 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26415 (550kB and counting).
26417 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26420 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26421 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26425 @subsection New Features
26426 @cindex new features
26429 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26430 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26431 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26432 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26433 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26434 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26435 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26438 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26439 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26440 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26443 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26445 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26450 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26451 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26454 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26455 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26458 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26461 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26462 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26463 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26466 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26467 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26468 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26469 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26472 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26473 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26476 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26477 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26478 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26481 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26482 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
26485 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
26486 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
26487 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26490 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
26491 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
26492 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
26495 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
26496 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
26499 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
26500 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
26503 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
26504 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
26507 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
26508 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26511 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
26512 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
26515 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
26516 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26519 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
26522 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
26523 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
26526 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
26527 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
26530 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
26531 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
26534 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
26537 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
26538 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26541 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
26545 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
26549 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
26550 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
26553 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
26559 @node September Gnus
26560 @subsubsection September Gnus
26564 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
26568 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
26573 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
26574 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
26578 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
26579 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
26583 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
26587 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
26588 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
26591 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
26595 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
26598 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
26601 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
26604 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
26608 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
26609 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
26612 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
26616 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
26620 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
26624 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
26628 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
26631 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
26632 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
26635 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
26639 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
26640 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
26643 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
26646 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
26647 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
26648 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
26651 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
26655 The Gnus cache is much faster.
26658 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
26662 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
26663 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
26666 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
26667 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
26670 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
26671 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
26674 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
26675 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
26676 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
26679 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
26680 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
26683 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
26686 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26689 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
26692 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
26695 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
26696 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
26699 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
26703 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
26706 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
26711 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
26714 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
26718 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26721 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
26725 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
26728 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
26731 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
26732 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26735 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
26736 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
26740 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
26741 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
26744 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
26748 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
26749 buffer to allow easier treatment.
26752 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
26755 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
26759 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
26763 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
26764 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
26767 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
26771 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
26772 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
26775 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
26776 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26779 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
26783 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
26786 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
26789 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
26795 @subsubsection Red Gnus
26797 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
26801 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
26808 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
26811 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
26812 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
26815 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
26816 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
26820 Article washing status can be displayed in the
26821 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
26824 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
26827 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
26828 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
26831 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
26835 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
26836 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
26840 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
26841 Server Internals}).
26844 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
26848 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
26851 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
26852 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
26855 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
26856 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
26857 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
26860 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
26861 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26864 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
26865 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
26868 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
26872 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
26873 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26876 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
26877 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
26880 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
26884 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
26887 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
26891 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
26892 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
26895 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
26896 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
26899 A new command for reading collections of documents
26900 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
26901 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
26904 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
26908 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
26909 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
26912 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
26913 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
26914 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
26917 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
26918 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
26922 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
26926 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
26930 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
26935 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
26939 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
26943 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
26944 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
26947 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
26953 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
26955 New features in Gnus 5.6:
26960 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
26961 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
26962 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
26965 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
26966 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
26967 group, which is created automatically.
26970 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
26974 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
26977 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
26978 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
26981 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
26985 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
26988 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
26989 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
26992 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
26995 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
26999 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27000 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27003 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27004 control over simplification.
27007 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27010 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27014 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27017 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27020 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27021 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27022 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27025 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27026 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27029 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27033 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27034 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27037 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27038 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27041 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27045 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27048 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27051 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27052 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27055 A new function for citing in Message has been
27056 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27059 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27062 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27066 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27067 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27070 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27071 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27074 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27077 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27081 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27082 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27084 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27089 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27090 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27092 If you used procmail like in
27095 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27096 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27097 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27098 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27101 this now has changed to
27105 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27109 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27112 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27113 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27116 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27117 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27120 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27121 called to position point.
27124 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27125 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27128 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27129 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27132 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27133 subtly different manner.
27136 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27137 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27138 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27141 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27146 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27149 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27153 @item Installation changes
27154 @c ***********************
27158 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27160 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27161 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27162 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27163 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27164 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27165 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27166 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27167 isn't save in general.
27170 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27171 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27172 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27173 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27174 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27175 remove-installed-shadows}.
27178 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27180 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27181 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27182 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
27183 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27184 the second parameter.
27186 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27187 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
27188 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27189 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27190 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27191 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27192 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27193 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27194 cycle used under Unix systems.
27196 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27197 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27200 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27202 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27203 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27206 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27207 @c CVS. We should find a better place for this item.
27209 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27211 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27212 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27213 lisp directory into load-path.
27215 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27216 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27220 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27221 @c *****************************************
27226 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27227 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27230 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27232 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27233 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
27234 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
27235 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
27238 Improved anti-spam features.
27240 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27241 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27242 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27243 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27244 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27245 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27248 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27250 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27251 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27252 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27253 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27254 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27258 @item Changes in group mode
27259 @c ************************
27264 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27268 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27270 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27271 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27274 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27276 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27277 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27278 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27279 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27280 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27283 (setq gnus-parameters
27285 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27286 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27287 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27288 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27292 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27294 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27295 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27296 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27297 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27298 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27299 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27300 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27301 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27302 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27305 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27307 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27308 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27309 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27312 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27313 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27315 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27316 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27317 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27319 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27324 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27325 @c **************************************
27330 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27331 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27332 region if the region is active.
27335 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27336 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27341 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27342 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27343 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27344 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27347 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27352 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27353 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27355 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27356 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27360 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27361 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27364 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27367 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27368 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27371 Warn about email replies to news
27373 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27374 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27378 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27379 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27383 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27384 opposed to old but unread messages).
27387 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27388 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27391 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27392 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27395 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27396 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27399 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27401 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27402 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27403 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27404 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27407 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27408 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27409 Outlook (Express) articles.
27412 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27414 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27415 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27416 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27417 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27419 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27420 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27421 message cited below.
27424 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27427 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27431 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27434 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27435 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27438 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27441 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27443 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27444 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27445 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27446 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27447 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27451 Deleting of attachments.
27453 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27454 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27455 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27456 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27457 that support editing.
27460 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27462 The default value is determined from the
27463 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27464 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27465 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27468 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27470 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27471 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27472 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27475 Extended format specs.
27477 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27478 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27479 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27480 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27481 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27482 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27485 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27486 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27488 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27489 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27490 out other articles.
27493 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27495 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
27496 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
27497 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
27498 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
27501 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
27505 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
27506 @c ****************************************************
27513 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
27514 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
27515 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
27518 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
27519 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
27522 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
27523 Gcc articles as read.
27526 Externalizing of attachments
27528 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
27529 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
27530 local files as external parts.
27533 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
27534 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
27537 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
27539 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
27540 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
27541 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
27542 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
27543 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
27544 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
27545 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
27546 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
27547 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
27550 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
27552 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
27553 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
27554 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
27555 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
27556 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
27557 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
27560 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
27561 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
27565 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
27568 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
27570 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
27571 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
27572 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
27573 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
27574 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
27575 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
27576 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
27577 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
27578 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
27579 was inserted directly.
27582 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
27584 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
27585 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
27586 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
27587 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
27590 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
27592 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
27594 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
27595 'bbdb-complete-name)
27599 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
27601 Add a new format of match like
27603 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
27604 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27606 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
27608 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
27609 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
27613 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
27615 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
27616 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
27617 need add those two headers too.
27620 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
27621 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
27622 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
27626 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
27627 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
27628 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
27629 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
27630 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
27633 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
27635 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
27638 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
27640 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
27644 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
27646 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
27647 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
27648 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
27649 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
27650 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
27651 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
27652 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
27653 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
27656 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
27657 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
27659 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
27660 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
27661 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
27662 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
27665 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
27668 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
27669 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
27672 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
27675 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
27676 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
27677 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
27678 invalidate the digital signature.
27681 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
27682 decompressed when activated.
27683 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
27686 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
27688 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
27689 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
27690 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
27691 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
27692 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
27695 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
27696 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
27697 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
27698 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11
27702 @item Changes in back ends
27703 @c ***********************
27707 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
27710 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
27713 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
27715 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
27718 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
27720 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
27721 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
27722 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
27723 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
27724 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
27725 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
27726 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
27727 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
27728 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
27729 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
27730 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
27740 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
27741 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
27744 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
27745 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
27746 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
27747 message, Message Manual}).
27750 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
27751 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars. This is a new
27752 feature in Gnus 5.10.9. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
27754 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
27755 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
27756 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
27761 @item Miscellaneous changes
27762 @c ************************
27769 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
27770 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
27771 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
27772 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
27773 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
27774 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
27775 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
27776 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
27777 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
27778 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
27779 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
27780 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
27781 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
27782 is not needed any more.
27785 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
27787 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
27788 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
27789 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
27794 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
27795 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
27796 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
27800 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
27803 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
27805 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
27812 @subsubsection No Gnus
27815 New features in No Gnus:
27816 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
27818 @include gnus-news.texi
27824 @section The Manual
27828 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
27829 either @code{texi2dvi}
27831 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
27832 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
27834 to get what you hold in your hands now.
27836 The following conventions have been used:
27841 This is a @samp{string}
27844 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
27847 This is a @file{file}
27850 This is a @code{symbol}
27854 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
27858 (setq flargnoze "yes")
27861 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
27864 (setq flumphel 'yes)
27867 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
27868 ever get them confused.
27872 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
27873 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
27874 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
27875 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
27876 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
27877 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
27878 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
27884 @node On Writing Manuals
27885 @section On Writing Manuals
27887 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
27888 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
27889 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
27890 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
27891 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
27892 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
27895 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
27896 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
27897 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
27900 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
27901 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
27906 @section Terminology
27908 @cindex terminology
27913 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
27914 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
27915 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
27916 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
27917 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
27921 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
27922 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
27923 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
27924 not posting, and replying is not following up.
27928 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
27932 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
27937 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
27938 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
27939 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
27940 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
27941 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
27942 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
27943 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
27944 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
27945 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
27948 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
27949 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
27950 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
27951 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
27952 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
27953 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
27955 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
27956 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
27957 access the articles.
27959 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
27960 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
27961 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
27966 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
27967 default, way of getting news.
27971 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
27972 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
27977 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
27978 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
27982 A message that has been posted as news.
27985 @cindex mail message
27986 A message that has been mailed.
27990 A mail message or news article
27994 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
27999 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28004 A line from the head of an article.
28008 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28009 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28011 @item @acronym{NOV}
28012 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28013 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28014 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28015 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28016 normal @sc{head} format.
28020 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
28021 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28022 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
28023 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28024 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28025 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28027 @item killed groups
28028 @cindex killed groups
28029 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28030 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28032 @item zombie groups
28033 @cindex zombie groups
28034 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28037 @cindex active file
28038 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28039 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28040 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28043 @cindex bogus groups
28044 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28045 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28046 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28049 @cindex activating groups
28050 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28051 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28052 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28056 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28057 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28058 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28062 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28064 @item select method
28065 @cindex select method
28066 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28069 @item virtual server
28070 @cindex virtual server
28071 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28072 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28073 whole is a virtual server.
28077 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28078 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28081 @item ephemeral groups
28082 @cindex ephemeral groups
28083 @cindex temporary groups
28084 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28085 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28086 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28089 @cindex solid groups
28090 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28091 group buffer are solid groups.
28093 @item sparse articles
28094 @cindex sparse articles
28095 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28096 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28100 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28101 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28105 @cindex thread root
28106 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28107 articles in the thread.
28111 An article that has responses.
28115 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28119 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28120 specified by RFC 1153.
28123 @cindex splitting, terminology
28124 @cindex mail sorting
28125 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28126 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28127 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28133 @node Customization
28134 @section Customization
28135 @cindex general customization
28137 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28138 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28139 for some quite common situations.
28142 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28143 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28144 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28145 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28149 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28150 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
28152 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28153 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28154 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
28158 @item gnus-read-active-file
28159 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28160 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28161 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28162 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28163 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28165 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28166 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
28167 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
28168 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
28172 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28173 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28175 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28176 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28177 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28181 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28182 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28183 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28184 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28185 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28187 @item gnus-visible-headers
28188 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28189 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28190 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28191 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28193 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28195 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28196 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28197 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28200 @item gnus-use-full-window
28201 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28202 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28203 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28204 want to read them anyway.
28206 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28207 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28211 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28212 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28213 lines, which might save some time.
28217 @node Little Disk Space
28218 @subsection Little Disk Space
28221 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28222 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28226 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28227 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28228 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28229 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28232 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28233 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28234 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28235 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28238 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28239 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28240 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28241 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28242 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28248 @subsection Slow Machine
28249 @cindex slow machine
28251 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28252 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28254 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28255 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28257 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28258 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28259 summary buffer faster.
28263 @node Troubleshooting
28264 @section Troubleshooting
28265 @cindex troubleshooting
28267 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28275 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28278 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28279 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28283 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28284 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.6} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
28285 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
28288 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28289 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28292 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28293 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28294 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28295 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28296 something like that.
28299 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28302 @cindex reporting bugs
28304 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28306 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28307 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28308 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28309 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28311 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28312 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28313 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28314 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28317 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28318 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28319 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28320 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28321 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28322 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28324 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28325 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28326 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28330 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28331 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28334 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28335 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28336 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28337 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28338 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28339 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28340 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28341 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28342 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28343 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28344 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28345 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28346 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28347 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28352 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28353 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28354 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28355 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28356 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28358 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28359 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28360 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28361 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28362 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28363 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28364 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28365 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28366 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28367 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28368 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28369 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28370 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28373 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28374 @cindex ding mailing list
28375 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28376 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28377 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28378 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28382 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28383 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28385 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28386 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28387 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28388 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28391 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28392 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28393 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28394 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28395 and general methods of operation.
28398 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28399 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28400 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28401 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28402 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28403 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28404 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28405 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28406 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28410 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28411 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28412 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28413 @cindex utility functions
28415 @cindex internal variables
28417 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28418 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28419 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28423 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28424 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28425 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28427 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28428 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28429 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28431 @item gnus-group-real-name
28432 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28433 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28436 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28437 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28438 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28439 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28441 @item gnus-get-info
28442 @findex gnus-get-info
28443 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28445 @item gnus-group-unread
28446 @findex gnus-group-unread
28447 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
28451 @findex gnus-active
28452 The active entry for @var{group}.
28454 @item gnus-set-active
28455 @findex gnus-set-active
28456 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
28458 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28459 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
28460 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
28463 @item gnus-continuum-version
28464 @findex gnus-continuum-version
28465 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
28466 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
28469 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
28470 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
28471 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
28473 @item gnus-news-group-p
28474 @findex gnus-news-group-p
28475 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
28477 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28478 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
28479 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
28481 @item gnus-server-to-method
28482 @findex gnus-server-to-method
28483 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
28485 @item gnus-server-equal
28486 @findex gnus-server-equal
28487 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
28489 @item gnus-group-native-p
28490 @findex gnus-group-native-p
28491 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
28493 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
28494 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
28495 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
28497 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
28498 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
28499 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
28501 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
28502 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
28503 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
28504 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
28506 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
28507 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
28508 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
28510 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
28511 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
28512 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
28514 @item gnus-check-backend-function
28515 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
28516 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
28517 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
28520 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
28524 @item gnus-read-method
28525 @findex gnus-read-method
28526 Prompts the user for a select method.
28531 @node Back End Interface
28532 @subsection Back End Interface
28534 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
28535 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
28536 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
28537 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
28538 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
28539 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
28541 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
28542 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
28543 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
28544 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
28545 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
28546 been opened, the function should fail.
28548 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
28549 name. Take this example:
28553 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
28554 (nntp-port-number 4324))
28557 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
28558 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
28560 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
28561 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
28562 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
28564 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
28565 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
28566 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
28568 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
28569 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
28570 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
28571 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
28572 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
28573 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
28576 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
28577 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
28578 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
28579 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
28582 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
28583 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
28584 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
28585 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
28586 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
28587 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
28588 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
28589 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
28590 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
28591 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
28593 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
28594 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
28595 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
28596 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
28597 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
28598 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
28599 of numbers as long as possible.
28601 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
28602 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
28603 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
28605 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
28608 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
28611 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
28612 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
28613 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
28614 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
28615 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
28616 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
28620 @node Required Back End Functions
28621 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
28625 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
28627 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
28628 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
28629 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
28630 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
28632 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
28633 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
28634 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
28635 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
28637 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
28638 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
28639 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
28640 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
28641 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
28642 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
28643 number, do maximum fetches.
28645 Here's an example HEAD:
28648 221 1056 Article retrieved.
28649 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
28650 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
28651 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
28652 Subject: Re: Something very droll
28653 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
28654 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
28656 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
28657 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
28658 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
28662 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
28663 these in the data buffer.
28665 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
28669 head = error / valid-head
28670 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
28671 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
28672 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
28673 header = <text> eol
28677 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
28679 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
28680 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
28684 nov-buffer = *nov-line
28685 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
28686 field = <text except TAB>
28689 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
28693 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
28695 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
28696 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
28698 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
28699 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
28700 server. In fact, it should do so.
28702 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
28703 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
28706 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
28708 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
28709 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
28712 There should be no data returned.
28715 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
28717 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
28718 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
28719 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
28720 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
28722 There should be no data returned.
28725 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
28727 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
28728 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
28729 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
28730 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
28732 There should be no data returned.
28735 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
28737 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
28739 There should be no data returned.
28742 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
28744 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
28745 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
28746 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
28747 it would be nice if that were possible.
28749 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
28750 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
28751 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
28752 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
28753 into its article buffer.
28755 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
28756 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
28757 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
28758 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
28759 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
28760 on successful article retrieval.
28763 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
28765 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
28766 making @var{group} the current group.
28768 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
28771 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
28774 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
28777 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
28778 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
28779 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
28780 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
28781 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
28782 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
28783 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
28784 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
28785 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
28789 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
28790 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
28791 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
28795 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
28797 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
28798 a no-op on most back ends.
28800 There should be no data returned.
28803 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
28805 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
28808 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
28811 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
28812 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
28815 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
28816 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
28817 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
28818 and the highest as 0.
28821 active-file = *active-line
28822 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
28824 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
28827 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
28828 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
28829 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
28832 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
28834 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
28835 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
28836 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
28837 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
28838 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
28839 clear if the posting could not be completed.
28841 There should be no result data from this function.
28846 @node Optional Back End Functions
28847 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
28851 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
28853 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
28854 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
28855 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
28857 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
28858 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
28859 former is in the same format as the data from
28860 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
28861 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
28864 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
28868 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
28870 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
28871 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
28872 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
28873 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
28874 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
28875 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
28876 the network resources).
28878 There should be no result data from this function.
28881 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
28883 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
28884 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
28885 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
28886 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
28887 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
28888 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
28889 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
28890 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
28892 There should be no result data from this function.
28895 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
28897 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
28898 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
28899 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
28900 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
28901 propagate the mark information to the server.
28903 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
28906 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
28909 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
28910 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
28911 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
28912 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
28913 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
28914 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
28915 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
28916 possible, not limit itself to these.
28918 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
28919 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
28920 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
28921 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
28923 An example action list:
28926 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
28927 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
28928 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
28931 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
28932 mark on (currently not used for anything).
28934 There should be no result data from this function.
28936 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
28938 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
28939 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
28940 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
28941 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
28942 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
28944 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
28945 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
28946 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
28949 There should be no result data from this function.
28952 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
28954 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
28955 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
28956 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
28957 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
28958 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
28959 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
28960 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
28961 local if that's practical.
28963 There should be no result data from this function.
28966 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
28968 The result data from this function should be a description of
28972 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
28974 description = <text>
28977 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
28979 The result data from this function should be the description of all
28980 groups available on the server.
28983 description-buffer = *description-line
28987 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
28989 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
28990 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
28991 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
28992 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
28993 in the active buffer format.
28995 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
28996 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
28997 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
28998 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
28999 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29000 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29001 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29004 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29006 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29008 There should be no return data.
29011 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29013 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29014 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29015 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29016 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29017 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29020 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29023 There should be no result data returned.
29026 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29028 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29029 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29031 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29032 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29033 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29034 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29035 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29036 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29038 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29039 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29042 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29043 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29045 There should be no data returned.
29048 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29050 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29051 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29052 this function in short order.
29054 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29055 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29057 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29058 article for that group.
29060 There should be no data returned.
29063 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29065 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29066 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29068 There should be no data returned.
29071 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29073 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29074 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29075 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29077 There should be no data returned.
29080 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29082 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29083 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29085 There should be no data returned.
29090 @node Error Messaging
29091 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29093 @findex nnheader-report
29094 @findex nnheader-get-report
29095 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29096 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29097 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29098 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29099 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29100 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29103 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29105 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29108 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29109 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29110 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29111 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29113 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29114 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29115 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29118 @node Writing New Back Ends
29119 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29121 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29122 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29123 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29124 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29125 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29128 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29129 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29130 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29132 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29133 package called @code{nnoo}.
29135 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29136 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29142 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29143 parameters. For instance:
29146 (nnoo-declare nndir
29150 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29151 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29154 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29155 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29156 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29158 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29159 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29160 a function in those back ends.
29163 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29164 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29165 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29168 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29169 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29170 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29172 @item nnoo-define-basics
29173 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29177 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29181 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29182 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29183 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29185 @item nnoo-map-functions
29186 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29187 functions from the parent back ends.
29190 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29191 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29192 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29195 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29196 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29197 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29198 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29201 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29202 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29203 haven't already been defined.
29209 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29213 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29214 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29215 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29220 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29223 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29224 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29228 (require 'nnheader)
29232 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29234 (nnoo-declare nndir
29237 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29238 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29239 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29241 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29242 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29245 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29247 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29248 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29249 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29251 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29252 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29254 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29256 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29258 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29259 (setq nndir-directory
29260 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29262 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29263 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29264 (push `(nndir-current-group
29265 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29266 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29268 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29269 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29271 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29273 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29274 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29275 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29276 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29277 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29281 nnmh-status-message
29283 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29289 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29290 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29292 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29293 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29294 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29295 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29296 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29298 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29299 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29304 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29307 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29309 The abilities can be:
29313 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29315 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29317 This back end supports both mail and news.
29319 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29322 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29323 articles and groups.
29325 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29326 true for almost all back ends.
29327 @item prompt-address
29328 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29329 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29330 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29334 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29335 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29337 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29338 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29339 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29340 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29343 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29344 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29345 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29348 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29349 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29352 This function takes four parameters.
29356 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29359 @item exit-function
29360 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29362 @item temp-directory
29363 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29366 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29367 performed for one group only.
29370 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29371 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29372 find the article number assigned to this article.
29374 The function also uses the following variables:
29375 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29376 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29377 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29378 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29382 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29383 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29387 @node Score File Syntax
29388 @subsection Score File Syntax
29390 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29391 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29392 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29394 Here's a typical score file:
29398 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29405 BNF definition of a score file:
29408 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29409 element = rule / atom
29410 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29411 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29412 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29413 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29415 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29416 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29417 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29418 date-header = "date"
29419 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29420 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29421 score = "nil" / <integer>
29422 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29423 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29424 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29425 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29426 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29427 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29428 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29429 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29430 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29431 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29432 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29433 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29434 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29435 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29436 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29437 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29438 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29439 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29440 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29441 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29442 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29443 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29444 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29445 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29446 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29447 eval = "eval" space <form>
29448 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
29451 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
29454 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
29455 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
29456 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
29457 one looong line, then that's ok.
29459 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
29460 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
29464 @subsection Headers
29466 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
29467 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
29468 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
29469 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
29471 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
29472 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
29473 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
29474 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
29475 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
29476 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
29477 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
29479 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
29480 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
29481 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
29482 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
29483 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
29485 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
29486 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
29492 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
29493 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
29495 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
29496 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
29497 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
29498 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
29500 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
29504 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
29507 is transformed into
29510 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
29513 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
29514 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
29517 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
29520 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
29521 is slightly tricky:
29524 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
29530 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
29533 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
29539 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
29546 and is equal to the previous range.
29548 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
29549 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
29550 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
29554 range = simple-range / normal-range
29555 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
29556 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
29557 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
29558 number *[ " " contents ]
29561 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
29562 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
29563 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
29564 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
29565 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
29570 @subsection Group Info
29572 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
29573 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
29574 describes the group.
29576 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
29577 second is a more complex one:
29580 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
29582 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
29583 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
29585 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
29588 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
29589 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
29590 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
29591 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
29592 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
29593 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
29594 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
29595 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
29596 this section is about.
29598 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
29599 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
29600 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
29602 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
29605 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
29606 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
29607 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29608 group = quote <string> quote
29609 ralevel = rank / level
29610 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29611 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
29612 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
29614 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
29615 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
29616 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
29617 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
29620 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
29621 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
29624 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
29625 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
29628 @item gnus-info-group
29629 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
29630 @findex gnus-info-group
29631 @findex gnus-info-set-group
29632 Get/set the group name.
29634 @item gnus-info-rank
29635 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
29636 @findex gnus-info-rank
29637 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
29638 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
29640 @item gnus-info-level
29641 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
29642 @findex gnus-info-level
29643 @findex gnus-info-set-level
29644 Get/set the group level.
29646 @item gnus-info-score
29647 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
29648 @findex gnus-info-score
29649 @findex gnus-info-set-score
29650 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
29652 @item gnus-info-read
29653 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
29654 @findex gnus-info-read
29655 @findex gnus-info-set-read
29656 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
29658 @item gnus-info-marks
29659 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
29660 @findex gnus-info-marks
29661 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
29662 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
29664 @item gnus-info-method
29665 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
29666 @findex gnus-info-method
29667 @findex gnus-info-set-method
29668 Get/set the group select method.
29670 @item gnus-info-params
29671 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
29672 @findex gnus-info-params
29673 @findex gnus-info-set-params
29674 Get/set the group parameters.
29677 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
29678 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
29680 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
29681 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
29682 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
29683 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
29686 @node Extended Interactive
29687 @subsection Extended Interactive
29688 @cindex interactive
29689 @findex gnus-interactive
29691 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
29692 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
29693 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
29696 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
29697 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
29702 The best thing to do would have been to implement
29703 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
29704 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
29705 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
29706 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
29707 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
29708 @code{interactive}.
29710 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
29715 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
29716 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
29720 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
29721 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
29722 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
29725 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
29729 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
29733 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
29739 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
29740 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
29744 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
29745 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
29746 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
29748 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
29749 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
29750 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
29751 Gnus, that's very useful.
29753 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
29754 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
29755 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
29756 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
29757 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
29758 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
29759 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
29760 following function:
29763 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
29767 (,function ,@@args))
29771 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
29772 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
29773 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
29776 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
29777 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
29778 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
29780 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
29781 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
29782 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
29785 @node Various File Formats
29786 @subsection Various File Formats
29789 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
29790 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
29794 @node Active File Format
29795 @subsubsection Active File Format
29797 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
29798 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
29801 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
29804 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
29805 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
29806 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
29807 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
29808 no.general 1000 900 y
29811 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
29814 active = *group-line
29815 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
29816 group = <non-white-space string>
29818 high-number = <non-negative integer>
29819 low-number = <positive integer>
29820 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
29823 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
29824 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
29827 @node Newsgroups File Format
29828 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
29830 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
29831 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
29832 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
29835 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
29836 Here's the definition:
29840 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
29841 group = <non-white-space string>
29843 description = <string>
29848 @node Emacs for Heathens
29849 @section Emacs for Heathens
29851 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
29852 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
29853 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
29854 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
29855 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
29856 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
29857 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
29861 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
29862 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
29867 @subsection Keystrokes
29871 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
29874 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
29877 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
29878 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
29879 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
29880 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
29881 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
29882 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
29884 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
29885 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
29886 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
29887 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
29888 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
29889 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
29890 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
29892 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
29893 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
29894 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
29895 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
29896 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
29897 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
29898 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
29900 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
29901 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
29902 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
29903 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
29904 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
29910 @subsection Emacs Lisp
29912 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
29913 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
29914 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
29915 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
29917 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
29918 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
29919 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
29920 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
29921 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
29922 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
29923 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
29924 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
29925 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
29926 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
29928 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
29929 write the following:
29932 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
29935 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
29936 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
29937 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
29938 change how Gnus works.
29940 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
29941 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
29942 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
29943 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
29944 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
29946 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
29947 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
29948 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
29952 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
29956 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
29959 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
29960 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
29963 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
29966 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
29967 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
29970 @include gnus-faq.texi
29972 @node GNU Free Documentation License
29973 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
29974 @include doclicense.texi
29994 @c Local Variables:
29996 @c coding: iso-8859-1
30000 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819