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12 Copyright @copyright{} 1995-2011 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
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16 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
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18 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
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324 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
333 @title Gnus Manual (development version)
338 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
340 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
348 @top The Gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
358 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
373 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
374 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
376 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
377 being accused of plagiarism:
379 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
380 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
381 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
382 can even read news with it!
384 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
385 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
386 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
387 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
388 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
391 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
392 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.11.
394 @heading Other related manuals
396 @item Message manual: Composing messages
397 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
398 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
399 @item PGG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
400 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
406 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
407 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
408 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
409 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
410 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
411 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
412 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
413 * Searching:: Mail and News search engines.
414 * Various:: General purpose settings.
415 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
416 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
417 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
418 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
419 * Key Index:: Key Index.
421 Other related manuals
423 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
424 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
425 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
426 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
427 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
430 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
434 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
435 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
436 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
437 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
438 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
439 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
440 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
441 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
442 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
443 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
447 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
448 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
449 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
453 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
454 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
455 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
456 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
457 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
458 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
459 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
460 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
461 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
462 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
463 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
464 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
465 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
466 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
467 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
468 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
469 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
470 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
474 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
475 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
476 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
480 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
481 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
482 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
483 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
484 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
488 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
489 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
490 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
491 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
492 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
496 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
497 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
498 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
499 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
500 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
501 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
502 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
503 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
504 * Threading:: How threads are made.
505 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
506 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
507 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
508 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
509 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
510 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
511 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
512 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
513 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
514 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
515 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
516 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
517 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
518 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
519 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
520 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
521 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
522 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
523 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
524 or reselecting the current group.
525 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
526 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
527 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
528 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
530 Summary Buffer Format
532 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
533 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
534 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
535 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
539 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
540 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
542 Reply, Followup and Post
544 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
545 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
546 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
547 * Canceling and Superseding::
551 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
552 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
553 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
554 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
555 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
556 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
560 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
561 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
563 Customizing Threading
565 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
566 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
567 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
568 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
572 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
573 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
574 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
575 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
576 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
577 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
581 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
582 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
583 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
587 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
588 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
589 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
590 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
591 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
592 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
593 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
594 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
595 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
596 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
597 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
599 Alternative Approaches
601 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
602 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
604 Various Summary Stuff
606 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
607 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
608 * Summary Generation Commands::
609 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
613 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
614 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
615 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
616 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
617 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
621 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
622 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
623 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
624 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
625 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
626 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
627 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
628 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
629 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
633 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
634 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
635 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
636 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
637 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
638 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
639 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
640 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
641 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
645 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
646 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
647 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
648 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
649 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
650 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
651 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
655 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
656 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
660 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
661 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
662 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
663 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
667 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
668 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
669 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
670 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
671 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
672 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
673 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
674 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
675 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
676 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
677 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
678 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
679 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
683 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
684 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
685 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
687 Choosing a Mail Back End
689 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
690 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
691 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
692 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
693 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
694 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
695 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
700 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
701 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
702 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
706 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
707 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
708 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
709 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
710 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
714 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
718 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
722 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
723 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
724 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
728 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
729 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
730 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
732 The Gnus Diary Library
734 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
735 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
736 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
737 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
741 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
742 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
743 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
744 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
745 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
746 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
747 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
748 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
749 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
750 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
751 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
752 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
753 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
754 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
758 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
759 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
760 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
764 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
765 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
766 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
770 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
771 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
772 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
773 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
774 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
775 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
776 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
777 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
778 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
779 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
780 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
781 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
782 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
783 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
784 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
785 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
789 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
790 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
791 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
795 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
796 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
800 * What is nnir?:: What does nnir do.
801 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
802 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up nnir.
806 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
810 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
811 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
812 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
813 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
814 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
815 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
816 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
817 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
818 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
819 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
820 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
821 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
822 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
823 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
824 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
825 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
826 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
827 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
828 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
829 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
833 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
834 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
835 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
836 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
837 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
838 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
839 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
840 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
844 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
845 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
846 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
848 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
849 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
850 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
854 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
855 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
856 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
857 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
861 * Spam Package Introduction::
862 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
863 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
864 * Spam and Ham Processors::
865 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
867 * Extending the Spam package::
868 * Spam Statistics Package::
870 Spam Statistics Package
872 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
873 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
874 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
878 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
879 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
880 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
881 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
882 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
883 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
884 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
885 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
886 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
890 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
891 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
892 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
893 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
894 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
895 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
896 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
897 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
898 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
902 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
903 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
904 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
905 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
906 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
907 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
908 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
912 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
913 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
914 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
915 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
919 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
920 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
921 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
922 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
923 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
924 * Group Info:: The group info format.
925 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
926 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
927 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
931 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
932 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
933 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
934 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
935 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
936 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
940 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
941 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
945 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
946 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
952 @chapter Starting Gnus
955 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
960 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
961 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
962 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
963 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
964 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
965 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
967 @findex gnus-other-frame
968 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
969 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
970 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
972 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
973 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
974 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
976 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
977 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
980 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
981 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
982 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
983 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
984 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
985 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
986 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
987 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
988 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
992 @node Finding the News
993 @section Finding the News
996 First of all, you should know that there is a special buffer called
997 @code{*Server*} that lists all the servers Gnus knows about. You can
998 press @kbd{^} from the Group buffer to see it. In the Server buffer,
999 you can press @kbd{RET} on a defined server to see all the groups it
1000 serves (subscribed or not!). You can also add or delete servers, edit
1001 a foreign server's definition, agentize or de-agentize a server, and
1002 do many other neat things. @xref{Server Buffer}.
1003 @xref{Foreign Groups}. @xref{Agent Basics}.
1005 @vindex gnus-select-method
1007 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1008 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1009 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1010 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1013 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1014 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1017 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1020 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1023 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1026 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1027 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1028 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1029 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1031 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1033 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1034 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1035 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1036 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1037 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1038 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1039 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1041 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1043 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1044 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1045 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1046 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1047 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1048 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1050 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1052 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1053 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1054 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1055 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1056 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1057 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1060 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1061 you would typically set this variable to
1064 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1067 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1068 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1069 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1070 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1073 @node The Server is Down
1074 @section The Server is Down
1075 @cindex server errors
1077 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1078 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1079 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1081 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1082 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1083 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1084 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1085 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1086 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1087 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1089 @findex gnus-no-server
1090 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1092 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1093 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1094 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1095 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1096 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1097 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1098 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1102 @section Slave Gnusae
1105 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1106 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1107 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1108 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1110 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1111 @file{.newsrc} file.
1113 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1114 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1115 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1116 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1117 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1118 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1119 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1122 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1123 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1124 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1125 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1126 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1127 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1128 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1129 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1131 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1132 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1134 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1135 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1136 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1137 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1138 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1145 @cindex subscription
1147 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1148 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1149 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1150 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1151 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1152 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1153 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1154 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1155 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1158 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1159 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1160 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1164 @node Checking New Groups
1165 @subsection Checking New Groups
1167 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1168 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1169 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1170 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1171 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1172 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1173 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1174 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1175 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1176 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1178 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1179 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1180 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1181 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1182 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1183 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1184 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1185 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1186 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1187 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1188 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1190 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1191 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1192 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1193 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1194 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1195 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1198 @node Subscription Methods
1199 @subsection Subscription Methods
1201 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1202 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1203 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1205 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1206 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1208 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1212 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1213 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1214 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1215 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1216 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1218 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1219 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1220 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1221 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1223 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1224 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1225 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1229 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1230 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1231 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1232 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1233 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1234 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1235 up. Or something like that.
1237 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1238 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1239 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1240 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1241 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1243 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1244 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1245 Kill all new groups.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1249 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1250 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1251 topic parameter that looks like
1257 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1260 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1265 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1266 A closely related variable is
1267 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1268 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1269 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1270 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1273 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1274 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1275 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1276 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1279 @node Filtering New Groups
1280 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1282 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1283 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1284 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1287 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1290 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1291 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1292 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1293 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1294 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1295 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1296 subscribing these groups.
1297 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1298 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1300 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1301 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1302 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1303 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1304 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1305 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1306 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1307 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1309 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1310 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1311 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1312 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1313 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1314 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1315 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1316 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1317 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, @code{nnimap}, and
1318 @code{nnmaildir}) subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this
1319 variable to @code{nil}.
1321 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-categories
1322 As if that wasn't enough, @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-categories} also
1323 allows you to specify that new groups should be subcribed based on the
1324 category their select methods belong to. The default is @samp{(mail
1325 post-mail)}, meaning that all new groups from mail-like backends
1326 should be subscribed automatically.
1328 New groups that match these variables are subscribed using
1329 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1332 @node Changing Servers
1333 @section Changing Servers
1334 @cindex changing servers
1336 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1337 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1338 very flaky and you want to use another.
1340 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1341 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1345 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1346 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1347 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1348 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1351 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1352 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1353 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1354 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1357 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1358 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1359 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1360 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1362 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1363 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1364 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1365 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1366 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1367 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1368 cache for all groups).
1372 @section Startup Files
1373 @cindex startup files
1378 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1379 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1380 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1383 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1384 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1385 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1386 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1387 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1388 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1389 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1391 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1392 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1393 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1394 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1395 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1396 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1398 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1399 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1400 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1401 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1402 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1403 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1404 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1405 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1406 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1407 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1408 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1411 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1412 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1413 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1414 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1415 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1416 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1417 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1418 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1419 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1420 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1421 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1422 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1424 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1425 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1426 @vindex version-control
1427 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1428 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1429 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1430 If you want version control for this file, set
1431 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1432 @code{version-control} variable.
1434 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1435 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1436 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1437 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1438 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1439 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1440 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1441 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1442 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1443 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1446 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1447 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1449 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1450 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1453 @vindex gnus-init-file
1454 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1455 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1456 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1457 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1458 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1459 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1460 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1461 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1462 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1463 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1464 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1465 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1466 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1471 @cindex dribble file
1474 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1475 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1476 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1477 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1478 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1481 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1482 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1485 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1486 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1487 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1489 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1490 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1491 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1492 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1493 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1494 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1496 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1497 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1498 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1501 @node The Active File
1502 @section The Active File
1504 @cindex ignored groups
1506 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1507 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1508 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1510 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1511 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1512 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1513 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1514 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1515 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1516 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1519 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1520 @c if you set it to anything else.
1522 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1524 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1525 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1526 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1528 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1529 you actually subscribe to.
1531 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1532 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1533 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1534 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1536 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1537 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1538 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1539 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1540 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1541 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1543 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1544 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1545 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1548 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1549 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1550 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1551 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1552 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1553 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1555 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1556 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1558 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1559 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1561 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1562 secondary select methods.
1565 @node Startup Variables
1566 @section Startup Variables
1570 @item gnus-load-hook
1571 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1572 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1573 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1574 times you start Gnus.
1576 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1577 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1578 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1580 @item gnus-startup-hook
1581 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1582 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1584 @item gnus-started-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1586 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1589 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1590 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1591 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1592 generating the group buffer.
1594 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1595 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1596 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1597 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1598 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1599 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1600 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1601 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1603 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1604 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1605 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1606 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1607 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1608 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1610 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1611 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1612 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1614 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1615 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1616 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1617 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1618 group operation some.
1624 @chapter Group Buffer
1625 @cindex group buffer
1627 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1629 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1630 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1631 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1632 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1633 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1634 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1635 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1636 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1637 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1638 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1639 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1640 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1641 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1642 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1643 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1644 @c human rights at 9...
1647 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1648 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1649 long as Gnus is active.
1653 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1654 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1655 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1656 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1657 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1658 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1659 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1660 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1666 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1667 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1668 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1669 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1670 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1671 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1672 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1673 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1674 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1675 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1676 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1677 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1678 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1679 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1680 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1681 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1682 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1683 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1687 @node Group Buffer Format
1688 @section Group Buffer Format
1691 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1692 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1693 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1696 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1697 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1700 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1701 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1702 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1703 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1706 @node Group Line Specification
1707 @subsection Group Line Specification
1708 @cindex group buffer format
1710 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1711 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1713 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1716 25: news.announce.newusers
1717 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1722 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1723 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1724 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1725 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1727 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1728 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1729 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1730 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1731 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1732 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1734 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1736 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1737 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1738 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1739 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1740 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1742 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1743 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1744 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1746 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1751 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1754 Whether the group is subscribed.
1757 Level of subscribedness.
1760 Number of unread articles.
1763 Number of dormant articles.
1766 Number of ticked articles.
1769 Number of read articles.
1772 Number of unseen articles.
1775 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1776 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1778 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1779 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1780 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1781 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1782 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1783 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1784 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1786 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1787 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1788 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1789 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1790 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1791 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1792 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1795 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1798 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1807 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1808 comment element in the group parameters.
1811 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1812 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1813 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1817 @samp{m} if moderated.
1820 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1826 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1832 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1836 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1839 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1840 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1841 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1842 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1843 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1846 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1848 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1852 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1855 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1859 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1860 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1861 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1862 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1865 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1866 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1867 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1868 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1869 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1870 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1875 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1876 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1877 group, or a bogus native group.
1880 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1881 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1882 @cindex group mode line
1884 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1885 The mode line can be changed by setting
1886 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1887 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1891 The native news server.
1893 The native select method.
1897 @node Group Highlighting
1898 @subsection Group Highlighting
1899 @cindex highlighting
1900 @cindex group highlighting
1902 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1903 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1904 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1905 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1906 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1908 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1912 (cond (window-system
1913 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1914 (defface my-group-face-1
1915 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1916 (defface my-group-face-2
1917 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1918 "Second group face")
1919 (defface my-group-face-3
1920 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1921 (defface my-group-face-4
1922 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1923 (defface my-group-face-5
1924 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1926 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1927 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1928 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1929 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1930 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1931 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1934 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1936 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1943 The number of unread articles in the group.
1947 Whether the group is a mail group.
1949 The level of the group.
1951 The score of the group.
1953 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1955 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1956 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1958 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1959 topic being inserted.
1962 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1963 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1964 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1966 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1967 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1968 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1969 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1972 @node Group Maneuvering
1973 @section Group Maneuvering
1974 @cindex group movement
1976 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1977 expected, hopefully.
1983 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1984 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1985 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1991 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1992 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1993 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1997 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1998 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2002 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2003 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2007 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2008 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2009 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2013 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2014 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2015 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2018 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2024 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2025 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2026 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2031 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2032 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2033 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2037 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2038 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2039 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2042 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2043 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2044 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2045 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2048 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2049 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2050 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2051 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2054 @node Selecting a Group
2055 @section Selecting a Group
2056 @cindex group selection
2061 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2062 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2063 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2064 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2065 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2066 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2067 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2068 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2069 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2070 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2072 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2073 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2074 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2076 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2077 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2082 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2083 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2084 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2085 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2086 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2090 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2091 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2092 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2093 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2094 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2095 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2096 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2097 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2098 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2099 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2102 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2103 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2104 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2105 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2106 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2109 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2110 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2111 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2112 doing any processing of its contents
2113 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2114 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2115 manner will have no permanent effects.
2119 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2120 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2121 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2122 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2123 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2124 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2125 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2126 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2127 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2128 most recently will be fetched.
2130 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2131 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2132 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2135 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2136 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2137 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2138 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2139 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2140 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2141 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2142 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2143 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2144 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2145 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2146 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2147 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2148 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2149 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2150 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2151 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2153 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2154 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2155 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2156 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2157 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2158 Which article this is controlled by the
2159 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2165 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2168 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2171 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2173 @item unseen-or-unread
2174 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2175 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2179 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2183 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2184 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2186 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2187 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2188 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2189 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2193 @node Subscription Commands
2194 @section Subscription Commands
2195 @cindex subscription
2197 The following commands allow for managing your subscriptions in the
2198 Group buffer. If you want to subscribe to many groups, it's probably
2199 more convenient to go to the @ref{Server Buffer}, and choose the
2200 server there using @kbd{RET} or @kbd{SPC}. Then you'll have the
2201 commands listed in @ref{Browse Foreign Server} at hand.
2209 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2210 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2211 Toggle subscription to the current group
2212 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2218 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2219 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2220 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2221 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2227 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2228 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2229 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2236 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2239 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2240 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2241 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2242 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2243 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2249 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2250 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2254 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2255 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2258 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2259 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2260 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2261 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2262 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2263 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2264 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2265 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2266 @file{.newsrc} file.
2270 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2280 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2281 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2282 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2283 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2284 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2285 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2290 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2291 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2292 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2296 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2297 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2298 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2300 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2301 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2302 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2303 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2304 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2305 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2312 @section Group Levels
2316 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2317 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2318 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2319 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2320 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2322 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2328 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2329 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2330 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2331 prompted for a level.
2334 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2335 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2336 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2337 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2338 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2339 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2340 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2341 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2342 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2343 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2344 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2345 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2346 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2347 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2348 reasons of efficiency.
2350 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2351 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2353 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2354 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2355 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2356 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2357 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2358 groups are hidden, in a way.
2360 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2361 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2362 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2363 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2364 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2365 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2367 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2368 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2369 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2370 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2371 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2372 list of killed groups.)
2374 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2375 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2376 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2378 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2379 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2380 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2381 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2382 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2383 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2384 relevant valid ranges.
2386 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2387 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2388 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2389 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2390 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2391 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2394 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2395 one with the best level.
2397 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2398 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2399 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2401 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2402 be called and the result will be used as value.
2405 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2406 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2407 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2408 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2411 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2412 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2413 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2414 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2416 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2417 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2418 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2419 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2420 to 5. The default is 6.
2424 @section Group Score
2429 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2430 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2431 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2434 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2435 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2436 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2437 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2438 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2439 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2440 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2441 least significant part.))
2443 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2444 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2445 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2446 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2447 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2448 action after each summary exit, you can add
2449 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2450 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2451 slow things down somewhat.
2454 @node Marking Groups
2455 @section Marking Groups
2456 @cindex marking groups
2458 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2459 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2460 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2461 bidding on those groups.
2463 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2464 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2465 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2473 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2474 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2480 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2481 Remove the mark from the current group
2482 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2486 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2487 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2491 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2492 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2496 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2497 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2501 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2502 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2503 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2506 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2508 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2509 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2510 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2511 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2512 the command to be executed.
2515 @node Foreign Groups
2516 @section Foreign Groups
2517 @cindex foreign groups
2519 If you recall how to subscribe to servers (@pxref{Finding the News})
2520 you will remember that @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} and
2521 @code{gnus-select-method} let you write a definition in Emacs Lisp of
2522 what servers you want to see when you start up. The alternate
2523 approach is to use foreign servers and groups. ``Foreign'' here means
2524 they are not coming from the select methods. All foreign server
2525 configuration and subscriptions are stored only in the
2526 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file.
2528 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2529 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2530 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2531 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2534 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2535 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2536 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2542 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2543 @cindex making groups
2544 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2545 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2546 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2550 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2551 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2552 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2556 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2557 @cindex renaming groups
2558 Rename the current group to something else
2559 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2560 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2566 @findex gnus-group-customize
2567 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2571 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2572 @cindex renaming groups
2573 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2574 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2578 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2579 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2580 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2584 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2585 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2586 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2590 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2592 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2593 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2598 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2599 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2603 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2605 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2606 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2607 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2611 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2612 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2614 Make a group based on some file or other
2615 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2616 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2617 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2618 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2619 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2620 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2621 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2622 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2623 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2627 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2628 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2629 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2630 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2634 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2638 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2639 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2640 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2641 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2642 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2643 @xref{Web Searches}.
2645 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2646 to a particular group by using a match string like
2647 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2651 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2652 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2653 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2657 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2658 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2659 This function will delete the current group
2660 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2661 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2662 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2663 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2664 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2668 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2669 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2670 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2674 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2675 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2676 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2679 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2682 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2683 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2684 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2685 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2686 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2687 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2691 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2692 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2695 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2696 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2697 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2698 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2699 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2700 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2703 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2704 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2705 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2706 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2707 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2708 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2709 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2710 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2711 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2712 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2714 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2715 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2716 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2717 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2718 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2720 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2721 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2722 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2723 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2726 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2734 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2735 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2736 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2740 @node Group Parameters
2741 @section Group Parameters
2742 @cindex group parameters
2744 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2746 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2747 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2748 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2749 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2750 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2751 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2752 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2754 Here's an example group parameter list:
2757 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2761 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2762 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2763 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2764 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2766 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2767 is an alist of regexps and values.
2769 The following group parameters can be used:
2774 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2777 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2780 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2781 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2782 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2783 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2784 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2786 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2787 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2788 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2789 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2790 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2791 list address instead.
2793 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2797 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2800 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2803 It is totally ignored
2804 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2805 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2807 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2808 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2809 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2810 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2811 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2813 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2814 @cindex mail list groups
2815 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2816 entering summary buffer.
2818 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2823 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2824 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2825 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2826 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2827 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2828 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2829 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2830 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2833 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2834 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2837 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2838 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2842 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2843 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2844 of whether it has any unread articles.
2846 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2847 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2849 @item broken-reply-to
2850 @cindex broken-reply-to
2851 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2852 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2853 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2854 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2855 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2856 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2860 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2861 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2865 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2866 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2867 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2872 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2873 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2874 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2875 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2876 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2877 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2878 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2880 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2881 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2882 doesn't accept articles.
2886 @cindex expiring mail
2887 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2888 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2889 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2891 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2894 @cindex total-expire
2895 @cindex expiring mail
2896 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2897 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2898 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2899 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2902 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2906 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2907 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2908 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2909 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2910 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2911 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2912 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2915 @cindex expiry-target
2916 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2917 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2920 @cindex score file group parameter
2921 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2922 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2923 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2926 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2927 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2928 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2929 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2932 @cindex admin-address
2933 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2934 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2935 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2936 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2940 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2941 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2945 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2948 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2949 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2952 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2956 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2958 Here are some examples:
2962 Display only unread articles.
2965 Display everything except expirable articles.
2967 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2968 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2972 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2973 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2974 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2975 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2976 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2980 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2981 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2982 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2986 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2987 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2988 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2992 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2993 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2994 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2996 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2998 @item ignored-charsets
2999 @cindex ignored-charset
3000 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3001 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3002 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3004 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3007 @cindex posting-style
3008 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3009 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3010 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3011 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3012 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3014 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3015 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3016 like this in the group parameters:
3021 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3022 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3025 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3026 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3027 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3028 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3029 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3030 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3036 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3037 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3041 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3042 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3043 mail source for this group.
3047 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3048 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3049 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3050 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3051 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3055 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3056 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3057 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3058 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3060 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3061 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3062 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3063 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3066 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3067 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3071 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3072 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3073 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3074 like the following is generated:
3077 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3078 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3082 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3083 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3085 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3086 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3088 @item (agent parameters)
3089 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of its parameters to
3090 control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3091 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3092 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3093 minimize the configuration effort.
3095 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3096 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3097 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3098 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3099 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3100 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3101 @code{eval}ed there.
3103 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3104 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3105 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3106 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3107 form needs to be set to it.
3109 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3110 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3111 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3112 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3113 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3114 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3115 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3118 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3121 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3122 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3123 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3126 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3129 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3130 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3131 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3132 into the group parameters for the group.
3134 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3135 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3136 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3137 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3138 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3140 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3141 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3142 following is added to a group parameter
3145 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3146 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3149 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3154 @vindex gnus-parameters
3155 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3156 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3157 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3161 (setq gnus-parameters
3163 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3164 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3165 (gnus-summary-line-format
3166 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3170 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3174 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3178 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3181 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3182 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3184 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3185 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3186 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3187 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3188 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3189 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3190 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3191 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3192 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3193 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3194 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3195 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3197 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3198 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3199 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3200 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3201 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3202 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3203 weekly news RSS feed
3204 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3210 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3211 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3212 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3213 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3214 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3216 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3217 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3218 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3219 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3220 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3221 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3225 @node Listing Groups
3226 @section Listing Groups
3227 @cindex group listing
3229 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3237 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3238 List all groups that have unread articles
3239 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3240 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3241 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3242 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3249 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3250 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3251 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3252 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3253 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3254 unsubscribed groups).
3258 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3259 List all unread groups on a specific level
3260 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3261 with no unread articles.
3265 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3266 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3267 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3268 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3273 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3274 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3278 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3279 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3280 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3284 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3285 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3289 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3290 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3291 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3292 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3293 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3294 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3295 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3296 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3300 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3301 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3302 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3306 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3307 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3308 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3312 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3313 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3317 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3318 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3322 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3323 List groups limited within the current selection
3324 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3328 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3329 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3333 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3334 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3338 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3339 @cindex visible group parameter
3340 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3341 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3342 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3343 get the same effect.
3345 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3346 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3347 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3348 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3349 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3352 @node Sorting Groups
3353 @section Sorting Groups
3354 @cindex sorting groups
3356 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3357 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3358 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3359 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3360 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3361 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3366 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3367 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3368 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3370 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3371 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3372 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3374 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3375 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3376 Sort by group level.
3378 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3379 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3380 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3382 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3383 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3384 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3385 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3387 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3388 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3389 Sort by number of unread articles.
3391 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3392 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3393 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3395 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3396 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3397 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3402 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3403 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3407 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3408 some sorting criteria:
3412 @kindex G S a (Group)
3413 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3414 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3415 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3418 @kindex G S u (Group)
3419 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3420 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3421 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3424 @kindex G S l (Group)
3425 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3426 Sort the group buffer by group level
3427 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3430 @kindex G S v (Group)
3431 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3432 Sort the group buffer by group score
3433 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3436 @kindex G S r (Group)
3437 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3438 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3439 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3442 @kindex G S m (Group)
3443 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3444 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3445 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3448 @kindex G S n (Group)
3449 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3450 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3451 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3455 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3456 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3458 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3459 commands will sort in reverse order.
3461 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3465 @kindex G P a (Group)
3466 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3467 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3468 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3471 @kindex G P u (Group)
3472 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3473 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3474 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3477 @kindex G P l (Group)
3478 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3479 Sort the groups by group level
3480 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3483 @kindex G P v (Group)
3484 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3485 Sort the groups by group score
3486 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3489 @kindex G P r (Group)
3490 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3491 Sort the groups by group rank
3492 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3495 @kindex G P m (Group)
3496 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3497 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3498 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3501 @kindex G P n (Group)
3502 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3503 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3504 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3507 @kindex G P s (Group)
3508 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3509 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3513 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3517 @node Group Maintenance
3518 @section Group Maintenance
3519 @cindex bogus groups
3524 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3525 Find bogus groups and delete them
3526 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3530 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3531 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3532 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3533 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3534 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3538 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3539 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3540 @cindex expiring mail
3541 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3542 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3543 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3544 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3547 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3548 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3549 @cindex expiring mail
3550 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3551 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3556 @node Browse Foreign Server
3557 @section Browse Foreign Server
3558 @cindex foreign servers
3559 @cindex browsing servers
3564 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3565 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3566 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3567 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3570 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3571 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3572 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3573 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3575 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3580 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3581 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3585 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3586 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3589 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3590 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3591 Enter the current group and display the first article
3592 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3595 @kindex RET (Browse)
3596 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3597 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3601 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3602 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3603 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3604 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3605 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3606 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3607 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3613 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3614 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3618 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3619 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3623 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3624 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3625 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3630 @section Exiting Gnus
3631 @cindex exiting Gnus
3633 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3638 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3639 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3640 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3641 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3645 @findex gnus-group-exit
3646 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3647 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3651 @findex gnus-group-quit
3652 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3653 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3656 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3657 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3658 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3659 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3660 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3661 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3667 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3668 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3669 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3675 @section Group Topics
3678 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3679 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3680 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3681 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3682 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3683 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3687 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3688 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3699 2: alt.religion.emacs
3702 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3704 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3705 13: comp.sources.unix
3708 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3710 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3711 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3712 is a toggling command.)
3714 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3715 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3716 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3717 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3720 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3721 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3722 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3725 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3729 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3730 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3731 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3732 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3733 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3737 @node Topic Commands
3738 @subsection Topic Commands
3739 @cindex topic commands
3741 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3742 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3743 definitions slightly.
3745 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3746 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3747 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3748 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3749 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3750 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3752 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3759 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3760 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3761 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3765 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3767 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3768 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3769 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3770 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3773 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3774 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3775 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3776 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3780 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3781 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3782 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3783 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3789 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3790 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3791 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3795 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3796 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3797 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3800 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3801 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3802 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3803 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3804 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3806 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3807 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3811 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3812 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3819 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3821 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3822 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3823 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3824 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3825 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3826 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3830 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3836 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3837 Move the current group to some other topic
3838 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3839 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3843 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3844 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3848 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3849 Copy the current group to some other topic
3850 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3851 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3855 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3856 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3857 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3861 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3862 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3863 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3867 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3868 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3869 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3870 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3871 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3872 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3873 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3876 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3877 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3881 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3882 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3883 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3887 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3888 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3889 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3893 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3894 Toggle hiding empty topics
3895 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3899 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3900 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3901 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3902 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3905 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3906 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3907 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3908 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3909 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3912 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3913 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3914 @cindex expiring mail
3915 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3916 expiry process (if any)
3917 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3921 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3922 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3925 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3926 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3927 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3931 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3932 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3933 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3936 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3937 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3938 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3941 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3942 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3943 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3947 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3948 @cindex group parameters
3949 @cindex topic parameters
3951 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3952 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3957 @node Topic Variables
3958 @subsection Topic Variables
3959 @cindex topic variables
3961 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3962 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3964 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3965 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3966 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3979 Number of groups in the topic.
3981 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3983 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3986 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3987 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3988 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3991 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3992 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3994 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3995 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3996 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
4000 @subsection Topic Sorting
4001 @cindex topic sorting
4003 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4009 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4010 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4011 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4012 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4015 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4016 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4017 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4018 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4021 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4022 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4023 Sort the current topic by group level
4024 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4027 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4028 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4029 Sort the current topic by group score
4030 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4033 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4034 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4035 Sort the current topic by group rank
4036 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4039 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4040 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4041 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4042 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4045 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4046 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4047 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4048 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4051 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4052 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4053 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4054 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4055 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4059 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4060 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4064 @node Topic Topology
4065 @subsection Topic Topology
4066 @cindex topic topology
4069 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4076 2: alt.religion.emacs
4079 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4081 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4082 13: comp.sources.unix
4086 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4087 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4088 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4093 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4094 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4098 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4099 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4100 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4101 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4102 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4103 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4105 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4106 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4107 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4110 @node Topic Parameters
4111 @subsection Topic Parameters
4112 @cindex topic parameters
4114 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4115 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4116 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4117 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4118 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4120 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4125 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4126 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4127 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4130 @item subscribe-level
4131 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4132 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4133 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4137 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4138 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4139 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4140 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4147 2: alt.religion.emacs
4151 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4153 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4154 13: comp.sources.unix
4159 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4160 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4161 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4162 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4163 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4164 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4166 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4167 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4168 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4169 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4170 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4172 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4173 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4174 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4175 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4176 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4177 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4178 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4179 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4182 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4183 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4184 @cindex non-ascii group names
4186 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4187 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4188 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4189 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4190 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4191 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4192 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4195 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4196 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4197 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4198 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4199 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4200 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4201 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4202 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4205 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4206 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4207 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4208 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4209 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4212 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4213 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4216 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4217 ones specified for the same groups with the
4218 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4220 A select method can be very long, like:
4224 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4225 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4226 (nntp-open-connection-function
4227 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4228 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4229 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4230 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4231 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4234 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4235 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4238 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4239 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4240 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4241 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4242 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4243 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4246 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4247 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4251 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4252 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4255 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4256 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4257 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4258 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4259 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4260 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4262 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4266 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4267 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4268 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4269 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4270 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4271 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4273 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4274 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4275 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4276 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4277 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4278 names and directory names.
4280 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4281 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4282 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4283 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4284 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4285 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4287 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4288 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4289 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4290 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4292 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4293 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4294 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4295 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4297 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4298 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4299 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4300 typical case where you have to customize
4301 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4302 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4303 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4304 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4307 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4308 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4309 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4310 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4313 @node Misc Group Stuff
4314 @section Misc Group Stuff
4317 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4318 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4319 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4320 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4321 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4328 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4329 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4330 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4333 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4336 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4339 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4340 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4344 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4345 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4346 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4350 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4351 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4352 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4353 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4354 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4355 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4356 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4360 @findex gnus-group-mail
4361 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4362 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4363 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4364 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4368 @findex gnus-group-news
4369 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4370 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4371 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4373 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4374 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4375 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4376 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4377 for this to work though.
4381 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4383 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4384 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4385 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4390 Variables for the group buffer:
4394 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4395 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4396 is called after the group buffer has been
4399 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4400 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4401 is called after the group buffer is
4402 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4405 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4406 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4407 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4408 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4410 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4411 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4412 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4413 whether they are empty or not.
4417 @node Scanning New Messages
4418 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4419 @cindex new messages
4420 @cindex scanning new news
4426 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4427 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4428 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4429 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4430 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4431 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4436 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4437 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4438 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4439 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4440 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4441 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4442 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4444 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4445 @cindex activating groups
4447 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4448 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4453 @findex gnus-group-restart
4454 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4455 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4456 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4460 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4461 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4463 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4464 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4468 @node Group Information
4469 @subsection Group Information
4470 @cindex group information
4471 @cindex information on groups
4478 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4479 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4482 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4483 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4484 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4485 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4486 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4487 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4488 used for fetching the file.
4490 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4491 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4495 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4497 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4498 @cindex describing groups
4499 @cindex group description
4500 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4501 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4502 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4506 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4507 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4508 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4515 @findex gnus-version
4516 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4520 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4521 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4524 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4527 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4528 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4532 @node Group Timestamp
4533 @subsection Group Timestamp
4535 @cindex group timestamps
4537 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4538 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4539 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4542 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4545 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4547 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4548 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4551 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4552 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4555 This will result in lines looking like:
4558 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4559 0: custom 19961002T012713
4562 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4563 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4567 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4568 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4571 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4572 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4576 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4577 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4578 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4579 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4581 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4587 @subsection File Commands
4588 @cindex file commands
4594 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4595 @vindex gnus-init-file
4596 @cindex reading init file
4597 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4598 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4602 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4603 @cindex saving .newsrc
4604 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4605 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4606 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4609 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4610 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4611 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4616 @node Sieve Commands
4617 @subsection Sieve Commands
4618 @cindex group sieve commands
4620 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4621 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4622 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4623 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4624 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4626 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4627 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4628 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4629 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4630 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4631 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4632 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4633 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4634 regenerate the Sieve script.
4636 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4637 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4638 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4639 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4640 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4641 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4642 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4643 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4644 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4645 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4648 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4649 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4654 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4660 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4661 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4662 @cindex generating sieve script
4663 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4664 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4668 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4669 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4670 @cindex updating sieve script
4671 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4672 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4673 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4678 @node Summary Buffer
4679 @chapter Summary Buffer
4680 @cindex summary buffer
4682 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4683 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4685 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4686 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4688 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4690 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4691 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4695 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4696 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4697 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4699 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4703 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4704 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4705 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4706 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4707 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4708 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4709 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4710 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4711 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4712 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4713 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4714 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4715 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4716 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
4717 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4718 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4719 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4720 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4721 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4722 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4723 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4724 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4725 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4726 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4727 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4728 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4729 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4730 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4731 or reselecting the current group.
4732 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4733 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4734 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4735 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4739 @node Summary Buffer Format
4740 @section Summary Buffer Format
4741 @cindex summary buffer format
4745 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4746 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4747 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4753 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4754 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4755 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4756 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4759 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4760 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4761 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4762 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4763 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4764 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4765 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4766 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4767 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4768 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4769 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4772 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4773 'mail-extract-address-components)
4776 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4777 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4778 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4779 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4782 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4783 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4785 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4786 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4787 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4788 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4789 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4791 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4792 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4793 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4794 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4795 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4796 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4798 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4800 The following format specification characters and extended format
4801 specification(s) are understood:
4807 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4808 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4810 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4811 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4812 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4814 Full @code{From} header.
4816 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4818 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4821 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4822 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4823 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4824 may be more thorough.
4826 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4829 Number of lines in the article.
4831 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4832 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4834 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4835 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4837 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4839 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4840 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4853 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4854 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4855 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4856 line-drawing glyphs.
4858 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4859 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4860 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4861 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4863 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4864 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4865 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4866 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4868 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4869 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4870 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4871 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4873 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4874 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4875 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4877 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4878 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4879 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4881 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4882 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4883 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4885 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4886 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4887 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4892 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4893 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4895 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4896 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4898 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4899 for adopted articles.
4901 One space for each thread level.
4903 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4905 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4908 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4909 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4910 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4913 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4915 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4916 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4917 default level. If the difference between
4918 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4919 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4927 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4929 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4935 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4936 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4938 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4939 article has any children.
4945 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4947 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4948 @code{gnus-summary-user-date-format-alist}.
4950 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4951 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4952 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4953 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4954 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4955 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4958 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4959 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4960 There can only be one such area.
4962 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4963 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4964 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4965 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4966 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4967 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4969 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4970 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4972 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4975 @node To From Newsgroups
4976 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4980 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4981 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4982 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4983 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4984 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4988 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4989 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4990 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4994 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4995 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4998 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4999 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5002 @findex gnus-extra-header
5003 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5004 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5005 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5008 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5012 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5013 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5014 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5015 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5016 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5017 headers are used instead.
5019 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5020 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5021 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5022 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5023 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5024 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5028 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5029 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5030 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5031 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5032 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5033 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5036 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5037 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5038 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5039 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5041 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5045 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5047 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5048 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5049 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5050 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5054 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5057 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5058 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5061 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5062 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5063 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5069 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5070 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5073 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5074 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5076 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5077 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5078 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5079 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5081 Here are the elements you can play with:
5087 Unprefixed group name.
5089 Current article number.
5091 Current article score.
5095 Number of unread articles in this group.
5097 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5100 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5101 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5102 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5103 and no unselected ones.
5105 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5106 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5108 Subject of the current article.
5110 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5112 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5114 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5116 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5118 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5120 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5124 @node Summary Highlighting
5125 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5129 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5130 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5131 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5132 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5133 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5135 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5136 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5137 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5138 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5140 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5141 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5142 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5143 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5145 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5146 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5147 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5148 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5149 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5150 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5153 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5154 ((> score default) . bold))
5156 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5157 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5161 @node Summary Maneuvering
5162 @section Summary Maneuvering
5163 @cindex summary movement
5165 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5166 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5168 None of these commands select articles.
5173 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5174 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5175 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5176 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5177 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5181 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5182 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5183 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5184 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5185 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5188 @kindex G g (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5190 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5191 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5194 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5195 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5196 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5197 to the group buffer.
5199 Variables related to summary movement:
5203 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5204 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5205 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5206 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5207 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5208 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5209 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5210 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5211 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5212 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5213 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5214 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5215 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5216 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5218 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5219 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5220 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5221 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5222 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5223 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5224 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5226 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5228 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5229 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5230 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5231 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5232 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5234 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5235 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5236 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5237 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5238 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5239 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5240 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5241 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5244 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5245 the given number of lines from the top.
5247 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5248 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5249 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5250 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5255 @node Choosing Articles
5256 @section Choosing Articles
5257 @cindex selecting articles
5260 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5261 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5265 @node Choosing Commands
5266 @subsection Choosing Commands
5268 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5269 and they all select and display an article.
5271 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5272 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5276 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5278 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5279 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5281 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5282 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5283 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5288 @kindex G n (Summary)
5289 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5290 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5291 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5296 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5297 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5298 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5303 @kindex G N (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5305 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5310 @kindex G P (Summary)
5311 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5312 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5315 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5317 Go to the next article with the same subject
5318 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5321 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5323 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5324 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5328 @kindex G f (Summary)
5330 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5331 Go to the first unread article
5332 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5336 @kindex G b (Summary)
5338 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5339 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5340 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5341 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5346 @kindex G l (Summary)
5347 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5348 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5351 @kindex G o (Summary)
5352 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5354 @cindex article history
5355 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5356 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5357 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5358 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5359 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5360 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5365 @kindex G j (Summary)
5366 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5367 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5368 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5373 @node Choosing Variables
5374 @subsection Choosing Variables
5376 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5379 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5380 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5381 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5382 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5383 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5384 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5386 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5387 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5388 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5389 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5390 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5393 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5394 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5395 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5396 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5397 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5398 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5399 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5400 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5401 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5402 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5403 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5404 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5405 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5406 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5411 @node Paging the Article
5412 @section Scrolling the Article
5413 @cindex article scrolling
5418 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5419 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5420 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5421 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5422 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5424 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5425 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5426 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5427 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5428 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5429 what is considered uninteresting with
5430 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5431 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5434 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5435 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5436 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5439 @kindex RET (Summary)
5440 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5441 Scroll the current article one line forward
5442 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5445 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5447 Scroll the current article one line backward
5448 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5452 @kindex A g (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5455 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5456 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5457 given a prefix, show a completely ``raw'' article, just the way it
5458 came from the server. If given a prefix twice (i.e., @kbd{C-u C-u
5459 g'}), fetch the current article, but don't run any of the article
5460 treatment functions.
5462 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
5463 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5464 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5465 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5468 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5473 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5478 @kindex A < (Summary)
5479 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5480 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5481 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5486 @kindex A > (Summary)
5487 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5488 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5492 @kindex A s (Summary)
5494 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5495 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5496 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5500 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5501 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5506 @node Reply Followup and Post
5507 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5510 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5511 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5512 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5513 * Canceling and Superseding::
5517 @node Summary Mail Commands
5518 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5520 @cindex composing mail
5522 Commands for composing a mail message:
5528 @kindex S r (Summary)
5530 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5531 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5532 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5533 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5534 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5539 @kindex S R (Summary)
5540 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5541 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5542 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5543 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5544 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5547 @kindex S w (Summary)
5548 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5549 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5550 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5551 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5552 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5553 present, that's used instead.
5556 @kindex S W (Summary)
5557 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5558 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5559 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5560 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
5561 first article to determine the recipients.
5564 @kindex S v (Summary)
5565 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5566 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5567 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5568 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5569 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5570 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5573 @kindex S V (Summary)
5574 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5575 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5576 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5577 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5580 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5581 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5582 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5583 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5584 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5585 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5586 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5587 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5590 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5591 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5592 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5593 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5594 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5598 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5599 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5600 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5601 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5602 Forward the current article to some other person
5603 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5604 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5605 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5606 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5607 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5608 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5609 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5610 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5611 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5617 @kindex S m (Summary)
5618 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5619 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5620 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5621 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5622 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5625 @kindex S i (Summary)
5626 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5627 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5628 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5629 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5631 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5632 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5633 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5634 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5635 for this to work though.
5638 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5639 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5640 @cindex bouncing mail
5641 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5642 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5643 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5644 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5645 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5646 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5647 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5648 very well fail, though.
5651 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5653 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5654 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5655 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5656 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5657 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5658 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5659 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5660 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5662 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5663 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5664 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5665 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5666 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5668 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5669 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5672 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5673 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5675 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5676 if it were a new message before resending.
5679 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5680 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5681 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5682 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5683 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5686 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5687 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5688 @cindex crossposting
5689 @cindex excessive crossposting
5690 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5691 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5693 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5694 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5695 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5696 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5697 command understands the process/prefix convention
5698 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5702 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5703 Manual}, for more information.
5706 @node Summary Post Commands
5707 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5709 @cindex composing news
5711 Commands for posting a news article:
5717 @kindex S p (Summary)
5718 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5719 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5720 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5721 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5722 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5727 @kindex S f (Summary)
5728 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5729 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5730 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5734 @kindex S F (Summary)
5736 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5737 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5738 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5739 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5740 process/prefix convention.
5743 @kindex S n (Summary)
5744 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5745 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5746 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5749 @kindex S N (Summary)
5750 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5751 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5752 message through mail and include the original message
5753 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5754 the process/prefix convention.
5757 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5758 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5759 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5760 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5761 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5762 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5763 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5764 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5765 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5766 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5767 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5768 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5769 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5772 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5773 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5775 @cindex making digests
5776 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5777 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5778 process/prefix convention.
5781 @kindex S u (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5783 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5784 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5785 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5788 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5789 Manual}, for more information.
5792 @node Summary Message Commands
5793 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5797 @kindex S y (Summary)
5798 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5799 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5800 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5801 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5802 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5807 @node Canceling and Superseding
5808 @subsection Canceling Articles
5809 @cindex canceling articles
5810 @cindex superseding articles
5812 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5813 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5815 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5817 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5819 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5820 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5821 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5822 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5823 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5824 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5826 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5827 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5830 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5831 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5832 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5834 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5835 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5836 message, Message Manual}).
5838 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5839 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5840 your original article.
5842 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5844 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5845 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5846 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5849 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5850 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5851 have posted almost the same article twice.
5853 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5854 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5855 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5856 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5857 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5858 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5859 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5860 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5861 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5862 canceled/superseded.
5864 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5866 @node Delayed Articles
5867 @section Delayed Articles
5868 @cindex delayed sending
5869 @cindex send delayed
5871 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5872 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5873 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5874 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5877 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5880 @findex gnus-delay-article
5881 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5882 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5883 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5884 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5888 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5889 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5890 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5891 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5894 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5895 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5896 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5899 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5900 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5901 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5902 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5903 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5904 that means a time tomorrow.
5907 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5908 couple of variables:
5911 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5912 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5913 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5914 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5916 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5917 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5918 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5919 formats described above.
5921 @item gnus-delay-group
5922 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5923 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5924 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5925 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5927 @item gnus-delay-header
5928 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5929 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5930 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5931 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5934 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5935 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5936 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5937 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5938 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5940 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5941 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5942 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5943 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5944 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5945 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5946 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5949 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5950 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5951 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5952 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5953 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5954 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5955 argument is ignored.
5957 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5958 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5959 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5962 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
5963 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
5964 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
5965 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
5966 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
5969 @node Marking Articles
5970 @section Marking Articles
5971 @cindex article marking
5972 @cindex article ticking
5975 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5977 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5978 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5979 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5981 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5984 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
5988 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5989 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5990 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5991 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5992 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5993 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5997 @node Unread Articles
5998 @subsection Unread Articles
6000 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6005 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6006 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6008 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6009 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6010 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6011 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6012 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6013 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6014 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6017 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6018 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6020 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6021 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6022 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6023 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6027 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6028 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6030 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6035 @subsection Read Articles
6036 @cindex expirable mark
6038 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6043 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6044 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6045 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6048 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6049 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6052 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6053 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6054 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6057 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6058 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6061 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6062 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6065 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6066 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6069 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6070 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6073 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6074 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6077 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6078 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6082 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6083 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6084 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6088 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6089 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6091 One more special mark, though:
6095 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6096 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6098 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6099 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6100 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6101 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6107 @subsection Other Marks
6108 @cindex process mark
6111 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6117 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6118 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6119 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6120 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6121 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6124 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6125 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6126 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6127 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6130 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6131 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6132 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6135 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6136 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6137 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6140 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6141 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6142 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6143 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6146 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
6147 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
6148 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
6149 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
6150 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
6151 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
6154 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6155 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6156 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6157 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
6160 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6161 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6162 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6163 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6164 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6168 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6169 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6170 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6171 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6172 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6173 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6176 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6177 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6178 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6179 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6180 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6181 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6185 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6186 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6187 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6188 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6189 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6192 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6193 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6194 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6195 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6196 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6197 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6201 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6202 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6203 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6205 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6206 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6207 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6211 @subsection Setting Marks
6212 @cindex setting marks
6214 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6219 @kindex M c (Summary)
6220 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6221 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6222 @cindex mark as unread
6223 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6224 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6230 @kindex M t (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6232 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6233 @xref{Article Caching}.
6238 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6239 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6240 Mark the current article as dormant
6241 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6245 @kindex M d (Summary)
6247 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6248 Mark the current article as read
6249 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6253 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6254 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6255 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6260 @kindex M k (Summary)
6261 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6262 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6263 and then select the next unread article
6264 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6268 @kindex M K (Summary)
6269 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6270 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6271 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6272 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6275 @kindex M C (Summary)
6276 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6277 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6278 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6281 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6282 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6283 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6284 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6287 @kindex M H (Summary)
6288 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6289 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6290 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6293 @kindex M h (Summary)
6294 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6295 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6296 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6299 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6301 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6302 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6305 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6306 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6307 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6308 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6312 @kindex M e (Summary)
6314 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6315 Mark the current article as expirable
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6319 @kindex M b (Summary)
6320 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6321 Set a bookmark in the current article
6322 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6325 @kindex M B (Summary)
6326 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6327 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6328 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6331 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6332 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6333 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6334 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6337 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6338 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6339 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6340 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6343 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6344 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6345 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6346 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6347 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6350 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6351 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6352 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6353 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6354 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6355 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6356 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6357 The default is @code{t}.
6360 @node Generic Marking Commands
6361 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6363 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6364 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6365 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6366 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6367 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6370 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6371 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6374 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6375 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6376 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6377 to list in this manual.
6379 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6380 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6381 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6382 article, you could say something like:
6386 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6387 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6388 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6396 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6397 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6401 @node Setting Process Marks
6402 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6403 @cindex setting process marks
6405 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6406 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6407 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6408 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6409 articles into the cache. For more information,
6410 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6417 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6418 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6419 Mark the current article with the process mark
6420 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6421 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6425 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6426 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6427 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6428 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6431 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6432 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6433 Remove the process mark from all articles
6434 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6437 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6438 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6439 Invert the list of process marked articles
6440 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6443 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6444 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6445 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6446 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6449 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6450 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6451 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6452 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6455 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6456 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6457 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6460 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6461 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6462 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6465 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6466 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6467 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6468 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6471 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6473 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6474 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6477 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6478 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6479 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6480 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6483 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6484 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6485 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6488 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6489 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6490 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6491 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6494 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6495 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6496 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6499 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6500 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6501 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6502 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6505 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6506 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6507 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6508 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6511 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6512 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6513 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6514 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6517 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6518 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6519 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6520 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6524 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6525 set process marks based on article body contents.
6532 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6533 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6534 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6537 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
6538 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
6545 @kindex / / (Summary)
6546 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6547 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6548 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6552 @kindex / a (Summary)
6553 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6554 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6555 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6559 @kindex / R (Summary)
6560 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6561 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6562 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6566 @kindex / A (Summary)
6567 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
6568 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
6569 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
6570 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
6573 @kindex / S (Summary)
6574 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6575 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6576 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6577 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6580 @kindex / x (Summary)
6581 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6582 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6583 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6584 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6589 @kindex / u (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6592 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6593 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6594 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6595 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6598 @kindex / m (Summary)
6599 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6600 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6601 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6604 @kindex / t (Summary)
6605 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6606 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6607 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6608 articles younger than that number of days.
6611 @kindex / n (Summary)
6612 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6613 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6614 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6615 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6618 @kindex / w (Summary)
6619 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6620 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6621 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6625 @kindex / . (Summary)
6626 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6627 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6628 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6631 @kindex / v (Summary)
6632 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6633 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6634 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6637 @kindex / p (Summary)
6638 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6639 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6640 group parameter predicate
6641 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6642 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6645 @kindex / r (Summary)
6646 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6647 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6648 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6653 @kindex M S (Summary)
6654 @kindex / E (Summary)
6655 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6656 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6657 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6660 @kindex / D (Summary)
6661 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6662 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6663 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6666 @kindex / * (Summary)
6667 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6668 Include all cached articles in the limit
6669 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6672 @kindex / d (Summary)
6673 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6674 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6675 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6678 @kindex / M (Summary)
6679 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6680 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6683 @kindex / T (Summary)
6684 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6685 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6688 @kindex / c (Summary)
6689 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6690 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6691 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6694 @kindex / C (Summary)
6695 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6696 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6697 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6698 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6701 @kindex / b (Summary)
6702 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6703 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6704 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6705 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6706 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6709 @kindex / h (Summary)
6710 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6711 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6712 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6717 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
6722 @kindex / N (Summary)
6723 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6724 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6725 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6728 @kindex / o (Summary)
6729 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6730 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6731 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6739 @cindex article threading
6741 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6742 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6743 hierarchical fashion.
6745 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6746 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6747 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6748 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6749 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6750 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6751 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6753 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6757 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6760 A tree-like article structure.
6763 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6766 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6767 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6768 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6769 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6770 called loose threads.
6772 @item thread gathering
6773 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6775 @item sparse threads
6776 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6777 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6783 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6784 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6788 @node Customizing Threading
6789 @subsection Customizing Threading
6790 @cindex customizing threading
6793 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6794 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6795 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6796 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6801 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6804 @cindex loose threads
6807 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6808 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6809 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6810 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6811 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6812 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6814 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6815 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6816 There are four possible values:
6820 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6821 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6822 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6823 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6824 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6829 @cindex adopting articles
6834 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6835 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6836 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6837 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6840 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6841 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6842 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6843 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6844 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6845 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6846 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6847 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6848 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6849 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6852 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6853 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6854 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6858 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6859 display them after one another.
6862 Don't gather loose threads.
6865 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6866 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6867 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6868 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6869 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6870 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6871 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6872 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6873 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6874 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6875 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6877 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6878 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6879 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6882 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6883 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6884 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6885 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6886 simplification is used.
6888 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6889 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6890 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6891 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6893 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6895 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6901 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6902 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6903 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6904 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6909 (mapconcat 'identity
6910 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6912 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6915 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6918 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6919 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6920 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6921 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6922 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6923 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6925 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6928 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6929 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6930 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6932 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6933 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6936 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6937 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6938 Remove excessive whitespace.
6940 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6941 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6942 Remove all whitespace.
6945 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6948 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6949 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6950 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6951 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6952 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6953 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6954 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6955 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6957 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6958 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6959 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6960 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6961 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6962 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6963 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6964 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6965 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6969 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6970 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6971 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6972 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6974 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6975 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6976 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6979 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6983 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6984 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6990 @node Filling In Threads
6991 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6994 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6995 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6996 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6997 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6998 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6999 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7000 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7001 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7002 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7003 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7004 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7005 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7008 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7009 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7010 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7012 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7014 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7015 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7016 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7017 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7018 slow summary generation.
7020 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7021 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7022 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7025 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7026 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7027 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7028 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7029 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7030 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7031 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7032 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7033 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7034 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7035 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7036 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7037 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7038 @code{nil} by default.
7040 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7041 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7042 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7043 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7044 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7045 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7048 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7049 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7050 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7055 @node More Threading
7056 @subsubsection More Threading
7059 @item gnus-show-threads
7060 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7061 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7062 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7063 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7064 slower and more awkward.
7066 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7067 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7068 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7071 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7072 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7073 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7078 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7079 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7080 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7083 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7084 unread, but you get my drift.)
7087 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7088 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7089 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7090 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7091 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7092 threads are expunged.
7094 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7095 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7096 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7099 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7100 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7101 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7102 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7103 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7104 result in a new thread.
7106 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7107 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7108 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7111 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7112 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7113 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7114 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7115 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7116 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7117 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7118 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7119 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7120 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7121 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7126 @node Low-Level Threading
7127 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7131 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7132 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7133 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7135 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7136 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7137 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7138 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7139 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7140 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7141 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7142 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7143 meaningful. Here's one example:
7146 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7148 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7149 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7151 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7153 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7160 @node Thread Commands
7161 @subsection Thread Commands
7162 @cindex thread commands
7168 @kindex T k (Summary)
7169 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7170 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7171 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7172 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7173 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7178 @kindex T l (Summary)
7179 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7180 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7181 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7182 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7185 @kindex T i (Summary)
7186 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7187 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7188 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7191 @kindex T # (Summary)
7192 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7193 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7194 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7197 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7198 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7199 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7200 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7203 @kindex T T (Summary)
7204 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7205 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7208 @kindex T s (Summary)
7209 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7210 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7211 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7214 @kindex T h (Summary)
7215 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7216 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7219 @kindex T S (Summary)
7220 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7221 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7224 @kindex T H (Summary)
7225 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7226 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7229 @kindex T t (Summary)
7230 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7231 Re-thread the current article's thread
7232 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7233 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7236 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7237 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7238 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7239 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7242 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7243 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7244 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7245 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7249 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7250 understand the numeric prefix.
7255 @kindex T n (Summary)
7257 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7259 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7260 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7261 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7264 @kindex T p (Summary)
7266 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7268 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7269 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7270 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7273 @kindex T d (Summary)
7274 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7275 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7278 @kindex T u (Summary)
7279 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7280 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7283 @kindex T o (Summary)
7284 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7285 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7288 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7289 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7290 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7291 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7292 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7293 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7294 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7295 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7296 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7297 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7298 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7299 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7303 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7304 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7306 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7307 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7308 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7309 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7310 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7311 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7312 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7313 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7314 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7315 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7316 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7317 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7318 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7319 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7320 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7322 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7323 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7324 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7325 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7326 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
7327 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7328 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7329 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7330 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7331 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7333 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7334 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7335 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7337 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7338 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7339 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7340 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7341 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7342 ascending article order.
7344 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7345 by number, you could do something like:
7348 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7349 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7350 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7351 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7354 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7355 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7356 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7357 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7358 which the articles arrived.
7360 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7364 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7365 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7366 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7369 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7370 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7371 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7372 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7375 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7376 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7377 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
7378 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7379 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7380 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7381 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7382 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7383 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
7384 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7385 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7386 variable. It is very similar to the
7387 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7388 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7389 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7390 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7391 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7392 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7393 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7395 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7399 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7400 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7401 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7404 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7405 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7408 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7409 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7410 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7411 @cindex article pre-fetch
7414 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7415 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7416 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7417 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7418 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7420 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7421 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7423 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7424 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7425 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7426 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7427 connection is blocked.
7429 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7430 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7431 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7432 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7434 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7435 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7436 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7437 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7440 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7443 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7444 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7445 happen automatically.
7447 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7448 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7449 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7450 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7451 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7452 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7453 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7455 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7456 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
7457 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7458 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7459 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7460 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7461 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
7462 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7463 article data structure as the only parameter.
7465 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7466 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7469 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7470 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7471 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7472 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7475 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7478 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7479 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7480 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7482 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
7483 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
7484 After an article has been prefetched, this
7485 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
7486 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
7487 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
7488 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
7489 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
7490 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
7492 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7493 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7494 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7495 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7499 Remove articles when they are read.
7502 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7505 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7507 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7508 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7509 @c from the next group.
7512 @node Article Caching
7513 @section Article Caching
7514 @cindex article caching
7517 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7518 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7519 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7520 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7521 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7523 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7525 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7526 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7527 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7528 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7529 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7530 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7531 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7532 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7534 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7535 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7536 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7537 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7538 as dormant, and don't worry.
7540 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7542 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7543 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7544 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7545 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7546 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7547 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7548 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7549 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7550 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7551 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7553 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7554 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7555 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7556 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7557 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7558 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7559 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7560 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7561 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7562 not then be downloaded by this command.
7564 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7565 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7566 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7567 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7568 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7569 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7571 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7572 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7573 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7574 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7575 variables, the group is not cached.
7577 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7578 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7579 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7580 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7581 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7582 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7583 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7584 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7585 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7588 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7589 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7590 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7591 where, isn't that cool?
7593 @node Persistent Articles
7594 @section Persistent Articles
7595 @cindex persistent articles
7597 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7598 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7599 useful in my opinion.
7601 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7602 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7603 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7604 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7605 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7606 the expiry going on at the news server.
7608 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7609 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7610 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7616 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7617 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7620 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7621 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7622 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7623 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7627 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7629 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7630 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7631 interested in persistent articles:
7634 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7637 @node Sticky Articles
7638 @section Sticky Articles
7639 @cindex sticky articles
7641 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
7642 according to the value of the variable
7643 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
7644 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
7645 has its own article buffer.
7647 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
7648 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
7649 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
7650 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next christmas party.
7652 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
7653 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
7654 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
7658 @kindex A S (Summary)
7659 @findex gnus-sticky-article
7660 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
7661 name for this sticky article buffer.
7664 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
7670 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
7674 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
7675 Kills this sticky article buffer.
7678 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
7680 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
7681 Kill all sticky article buffers.
7682 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
7685 @node Article Backlog
7686 @section Article Backlog
7688 @cindex article backlog
7690 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7691 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7692 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7693 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7694 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7695 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7696 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7697 increase memory usage some.
7699 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7700 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7701 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7702 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7703 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7704 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7705 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7707 The default value is 20.
7710 @node Saving Articles
7711 @section Saving Articles
7712 @cindex saving articles
7714 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7715 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7716 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7717 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7718 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7720 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7721 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7722 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7724 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7725 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7726 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7728 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7729 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7730 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7731 deleted before saving.
7737 @kindex O o (Summary)
7739 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7740 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7741 Save the current article using the default article saver
7742 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7745 @kindex O m (Summary)
7746 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7747 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7748 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7751 @kindex O r (Summary)
7752 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7753 Save the current article in Rmail format
7754 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
7755 Babyl in older versions.
7758 @kindex O f (Summary)
7759 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7760 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7761 Save the current article in plain file format
7762 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7765 @kindex O F (Summary)
7766 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7767 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7768 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7771 @kindex O b (Summary)
7772 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7773 Save the current article body in plain file format
7774 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7777 @kindex O h (Summary)
7778 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7779 Save the current article in mh folder format
7780 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7783 @kindex O v (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7785 Save the current article in a VM folder
7786 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7790 @kindex O p (Summary)
7792 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7793 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
7794 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7795 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7796 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7797 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
7798 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
7799 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
7800 to a string containing the default command and options (default
7804 @kindex O P (Summary)
7805 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7806 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7807 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7808 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7809 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7810 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7811 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7815 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7816 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7817 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7818 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7819 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7820 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7821 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7822 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7823 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7824 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7825 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7826 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7830 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7831 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7832 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7833 functions below, or you can create your own.
7837 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7838 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7839 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7840 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7841 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
7842 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
7843 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
7844 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
7845 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
7846 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7847 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7849 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7850 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7851 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7852 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7853 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7854 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7856 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7857 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7858 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7859 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7860 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7861 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7862 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7864 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7865 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7866 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7867 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7868 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7869 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7871 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7872 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7873 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7874 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7875 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7877 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7878 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7879 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7880 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7881 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7882 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7884 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7885 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7886 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7887 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7888 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7891 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7892 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7893 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7894 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7895 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7897 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7898 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7899 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7900 reader to use this setting.
7902 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7903 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7904 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
7905 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
7909 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
7911 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
7912 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
7913 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
7914 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
7915 last used for saving.
7918 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
7919 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
7920 headers will be piped.
7923 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7927 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7928 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7929 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7930 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
7931 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
7932 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
7935 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7936 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7937 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7938 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7939 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7940 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7943 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7944 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7945 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7946 headers should be saved.
7949 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7950 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7951 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7952 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7955 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7956 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7957 available functions that generate names:
7961 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7962 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7963 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7965 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7966 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7967 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7969 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7970 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7971 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7973 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7974 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7975 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7977 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7978 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7979 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7982 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7983 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7984 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7985 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7986 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7990 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7991 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7992 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7993 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7996 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7997 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7998 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7999 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8000 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8001 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8002 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8003 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8004 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8006 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8007 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8008 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8009 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8011 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8012 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8013 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8016 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8017 lots of mail groups called things like
8018 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8019 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8020 following will do just that:
8023 (defun my-save-name (group)
8024 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8025 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8027 (setq gnus-split-methods
8028 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8033 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8034 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8035 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8036 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8037 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8038 all the files in the top level directory
8039 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8040 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8041 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8042 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8044 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8045 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8046 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8047 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8048 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8051 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8055 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8056 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8057 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8060 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8061 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8062 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8063 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8066 @node Decoding Articles
8067 @section Decoding Articles
8068 @cindex decoding articles
8070 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8071 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8074 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8075 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8076 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8077 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8078 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8079 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8083 @cindex article series
8084 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8085 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8086 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8087 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8088 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8090 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8091 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8092 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8094 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8095 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8096 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8098 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8099 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8100 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8103 @node Uuencoded Articles
8104 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8106 @cindex uuencoded articles
8111 @kindex X u (Summary)
8112 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8113 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8114 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8117 @kindex X U (Summary)
8118 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8119 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8120 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8123 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8124 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8125 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8128 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8129 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8130 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8131 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8135 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8136 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8137 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8138 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8139 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8141 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8142 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8143 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8144 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8147 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8148 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8149 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8150 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8151 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8152 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8156 @node Shell Archives
8157 @subsection Shell Archives
8159 @cindex shell archives
8160 @cindex shared articles
8162 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8163 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8164 some commands to deal with these:
8169 @kindex X s (Summary)
8170 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8171 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8174 @kindex X S (Summary)
8175 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8176 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8179 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8180 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8181 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8184 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8185 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8186 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8187 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8191 @node PostScript Files
8192 @subsection PostScript Files
8198 @kindex X p (Summary)
8199 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8200 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8203 @kindex X P (Summary)
8204 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8205 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8206 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8209 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8211 View the current PostScript series
8212 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8215 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8217 View and save the current PostScript series
8218 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8223 @subsection Other Files
8227 @kindex X o (Summary)
8228 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8229 Save the current series
8230 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8233 @kindex X b (Summary)
8234 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8235 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8236 doesn't really work yet.
8239 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8240 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8241 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8245 @node Decoding Variables
8246 @subsection Decoding Variables
8248 Adjective, not verb.
8251 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8252 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8253 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8257 @node Rule Variables
8258 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8259 @cindex rule variables
8261 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8262 variables are of the form
8265 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8272 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8273 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8275 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8276 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8279 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8280 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8283 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8284 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8285 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8286 user and default view rules.
8288 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8289 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8290 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8295 @node Other Decode Variables
8296 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8299 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8301 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8302 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8303 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8304 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8305 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8309 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8310 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8313 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8314 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8315 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8318 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8319 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8320 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8321 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8322 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8325 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8326 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8327 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8329 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8330 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8331 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8332 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8333 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8336 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8337 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8338 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8340 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8341 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8342 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8343 looking for files to display.
8345 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8346 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8347 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8350 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8351 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8352 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8355 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8356 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8357 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8360 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8361 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8362 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8365 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8366 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8367 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8368 decoded articles as unread.
8370 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8371 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8372 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8373 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8375 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8376 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8377 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8379 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8380 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8382 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8383 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8384 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8385 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8387 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8388 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8389 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8390 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8391 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8392 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8393 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8394 simply dropped them.
8399 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8400 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8404 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8405 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8406 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8407 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8408 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8409 for you when you post the article.
8411 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8412 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8413 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8414 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8416 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8417 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8418 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8419 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8420 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8421 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8422 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8424 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8425 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8426 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8427 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8428 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8429 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8430 Default is @code{t}.
8436 @subsection Viewing Files
8437 @cindex viewing files
8438 @cindex pseudo-articles
8440 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8441 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8442 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8443 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8444 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8445 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8446 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8448 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8449 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8450 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8451 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8453 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8454 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8455 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8457 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8458 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8459 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8460 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8461 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8463 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8464 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8465 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8466 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8467 a list of parameters to that command.
8469 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8470 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8471 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8473 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8474 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8475 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8478 @node Article Treatment
8479 @section Article Treatment
8481 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8482 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8483 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8484 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8485 these articles easier.
8488 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8489 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8490 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8491 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8492 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8493 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8494 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8495 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8496 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
8497 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
8498 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8499 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8503 @node Article Highlighting
8504 @subsection Article Highlighting
8505 @cindex highlighting
8507 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8508 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8513 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8514 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8515 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8516 Do much highlighting of the current article
8517 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8518 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8521 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8522 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8523 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8524 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8525 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8526 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8527 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8528 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8529 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8530 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8531 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8532 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8535 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8536 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8537 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8539 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8542 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8544 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8545 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8546 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8548 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8549 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8550 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8552 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8553 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8554 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8555 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8556 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8557 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8559 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8560 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8561 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8563 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8564 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8565 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8567 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8568 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8569 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8570 that it's a citation.
8572 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8573 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8574 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8576 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8577 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8578 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8580 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8581 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8582 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8583 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8585 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8586 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8587 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8588 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8589 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8596 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8597 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8598 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8599 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8600 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8601 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8602 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8603 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8608 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8611 @node Article Fontisizing
8612 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8614 @cindex article emphasis
8616 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8617 @kindex W e (Summary)
8618 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8619 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8620 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8621 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8623 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8624 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8625 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8626 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8627 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8628 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8629 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8630 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8634 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8635 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8636 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8645 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8646 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8647 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8648 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8649 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8650 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8651 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8652 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8653 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8654 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8655 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8656 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8657 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8659 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8660 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8661 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8665 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8668 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8670 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8671 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8672 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8673 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8675 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8678 @node Article Hiding
8679 @subsection Article Hiding
8680 @cindex article hiding
8682 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8683 too much cruft in most articles.
8688 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8689 @findex gnus-article-hide
8690 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8691 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8692 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8695 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8696 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8697 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8701 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8702 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8703 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8704 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8707 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8708 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8709 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8713 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8714 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8715 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8716 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8717 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8718 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8719 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8720 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8724 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8725 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8726 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8727 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8732 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8733 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8734 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8735 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8738 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8739 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8740 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8741 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8744 @cindex stripping advertisements
8745 @cindex advertisements
8746 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8747 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8748 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8749 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8750 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8751 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8752 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8753 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8754 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8755 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8761 (setq gnus-article-banner-alist
8763 "^\n*--~--~---------\\(.+\n\\)+")))
8766 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8767 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8768 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8772 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8773 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8774 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8775 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8776 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8777 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8778 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8779 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8780 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8781 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8782 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8785 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8786 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8792 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8793 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8794 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8795 customizing the hiding:
8799 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8800 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8801 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8802 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8803 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8804 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8805 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8810 Starting point of the hidden text.
8812 Ending point of the hidden text.
8814 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8816 Number of lines of hidden text.
8819 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8820 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8821 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8822 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8823 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8828 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8829 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8831 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8832 following two variables:
8835 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8836 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8837 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8838 50), hide the cited text.
8840 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8841 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8842 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8847 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8848 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8849 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8850 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8851 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8852 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8856 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8857 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8858 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8860 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8861 citation customization.
8863 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8867 @node Article Washing
8868 @subsection Article Washing
8870 @cindex article washing
8872 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8873 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8875 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8876 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8879 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8880 articles by default.
8885 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8886 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8890 Force redisplaying of the current article
8891 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8892 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8893 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8894 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8897 @kindex W l (Summary)
8898 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8899 Remove page breaks from the current article
8900 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8904 @kindex W r (Summary)
8905 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8906 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8907 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8908 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8909 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8910 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8912 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8913 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8914 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8915 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8918 @kindex W m (Summary)
8919 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8920 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8923 @kindex W i (Summary)
8924 @findex gnus-summary-idna-message
8925 Decode IDNA encoded domain names in the current articles. IDNA
8926 encoded domain names looks like @samp{xn--bar}. If a string remain
8927 unencoded after running invoking this, it is likely an invalid IDNA
8928 string (@samp{xn--bar} is invalid). You must have GNU Libidn
8929 (@url{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/}) installed for this command
8934 @kindex W t (Summary)
8936 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8937 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8938 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8941 @kindex W v (Summary)
8942 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8943 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8944 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8947 @kindex W o (Summary)
8948 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8949 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8952 @kindex W d (Summary)
8953 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8954 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8956 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8958 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8959 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8960 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8961 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8964 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8965 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8966 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8967 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8970 @kindex W U (Summary)
8971 @findex gnus-article-treat-non-ascii
8973 @cindex Non-@acronym{ASCII}
8974 Translate many non-@acronym{ASCII} characters into their
8975 @acronym{ASCII} equivalents (@code{gnus-article-treat-non-ascii}).
8976 This is mostly useful if you're on a terminal that has a limited font
8977 and does't show accented characters, ``advanced'' punctuation, and the
8978 like. For instance, @samp{»} is tranlated into @samp{>>}, and so on.
8981 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8982 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8983 @cindex Outlook Express
8984 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8985 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8986 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8989 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8990 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8991 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8992 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8993 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8994 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8995 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8996 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8997 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8998 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
9001 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
9002 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
9003 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
9004 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
9007 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
9008 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
9009 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
9010 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
9013 @kindex W w (Summary)
9014 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
9015 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
9017 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
9021 @kindex W Q (Summary)
9022 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
9023 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
9026 @kindex W C (Summary)
9027 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
9028 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
9029 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
9032 @kindex W c (Summary)
9033 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
9034 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
9035 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
9036 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
9037 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
9040 @kindex W q (Summary)
9041 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
9042 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
9043 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
9044 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
9045 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
9046 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
9047 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9048 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9049 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9052 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
9053 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
9054 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
9055 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
9056 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
9057 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9058 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
9059 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
9062 @kindex W Z (Summary)
9063 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
9064 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
9065 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
9066 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
9069 @kindex W A (Summary)
9070 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
9071 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
9072 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
9073 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
9074 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
9077 @kindex W u (Summary)
9078 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
9079 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
9080 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
9081 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
9082 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
9085 @kindex W h (Summary)
9086 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
9087 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
9088 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
9089 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
9091 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for. If it is a number,
9092 the charset defined in @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist}
9093 (@pxref{Paging the Article}) will be used.
9095 The default is to use the function specified by
9096 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
9097 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
9098 @acronym{HTML}. Pre-defined functions you can use include:
9102 Use Gnus simple html renderer.
9105 Use Gnus rendered based on w3m.
9111 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
9113 @item w3m-standalone
9114 Use @uref{http://w3m.sourceforge.net/, w3m}.
9117 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
9120 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
9123 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
9128 @kindex W b (Summary)
9129 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
9130 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
9131 @xref{Article Buttons}.
9134 @kindex W B (Summary)
9135 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
9136 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
9137 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
9140 @kindex W p (Summary)
9141 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
9142 Verify a signed control message
9143 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
9144 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
9145 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
9146 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
9147 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
9148 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
9151 @kindex W s (Summary)
9152 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
9153 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
9154 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
9155 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
9158 @kindex W a (Summary)
9159 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
9160 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
9161 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
9164 @kindex W E l (Summary)
9165 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
9166 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
9167 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
9170 @kindex W E m (Summary)
9171 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
9172 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
9173 lines with a single empty line.
9174 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
9177 @kindex W E t (Summary)
9178 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
9179 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
9180 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
9183 @kindex W E a (Summary)
9184 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
9185 Do all the three commands above
9186 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
9189 @kindex W E A (Summary)
9190 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
9191 Remove all blank lines
9192 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
9195 @kindex W E s (Summary)
9196 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
9197 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
9198 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
9201 @kindex W E e (Summary)
9202 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
9203 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
9204 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
9208 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
9211 @node Article Header
9212 @subsection Article Header
9214 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
9219 @kindex W G u (Summary)
9220 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
9221 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
9224 @kindex W G n (Summary)
9225 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
9226 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
9227 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
9230 @kindex W G f (Summary)
9231 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
9232 Fold all the message headers
9233 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
9236 @kindex W E w (Summary)
9237 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
9238 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
9239 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
9244 @node Article Buttons
9245 @subsection Article Buttons
9248 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
9249 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
9250 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
9251 button on these references.
9253 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9254 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
9255 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
9256 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
9257 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
9261 @item gnus-button-alist
9262 @vindex gnus-button-alist
9263 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
9266 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9272 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
9273 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
9274 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
9275 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
9276 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
9279 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
9280 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
9281 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
9284 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
9285 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
9286 avoid false matches. Often variables named
9287 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
9288 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
9290 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
9293 This function will be called when you click on this button.
9296 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
9297 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
9301 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
9304 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
9307 @item gnus-header-button-alist
9308 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
9309 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
9310 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
9311 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
9314 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
9317 @var{header} is a regular expression.
9320 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
9323 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
9324 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
9326 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
9328 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
9329 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
9330 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
9331 default values of the variables above.
9333 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
9335 @item gnus-button-man-handler
9336 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
9337 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
9338 argument with a string naming the man page.
9340 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
9342 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9343 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
9344 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
9346 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9347 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
9348 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
9349 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
9350 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
9351 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
9352 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
9353 @code{ask}, always query the user what to do. If it is a function, this
9354 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
9355 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
9356 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
9357 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9359 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9360 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
9361 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
9362 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
9363 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
9366 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9367 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
9368 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
9369 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
9373 @item gnus-article-button-face
9374 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
9375 Face used on buttons.
9377 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
9378 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
9379 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
9383 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
9386 @node Article Button Levels
9387 @subsection Article button levels
9388 @cindex button levels
9389 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
9390 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
9391 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
9392 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
9393 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
9394 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
9395 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
9396 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
9399 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
9400 (setq gnus-parameters
9401 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
9402 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
9403 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
9408 @item gnus-button-browse-level
9409 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
9410 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
9411 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
9412 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
9413 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
9415 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
9416 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
9417 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
9418 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
9419 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
9420 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
9421 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
9422 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
9423 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
9424 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
9425 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
9426 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
9427 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
9429 @item gnus-button-man-level
9430 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
9431 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
9432 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
9434 @item gnus-button-message-level
9435 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
9436 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
9437 Related variables and functions include
9438 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
9439 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
9440 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
9441 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
9447 @subsection Article Date
9449 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
9450 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
9451 when the article was sent.
9456 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9457 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9458 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9459 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9462 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9463 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9465 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9466 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9469 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9470 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9471 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9474 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9475 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9476 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9477 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9480 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9481 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9482 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9483 @findex format-time-string
9484 Display the date using a user-defined format
9485 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9486 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9487 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9488 for a list of possible format specs.
9491 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9492 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9493 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9494 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9495 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9496 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9499 Date: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9502 This line is updated continually by default. If you wish to switch
9505 @vindex gnus-article-update-date-headers
9507 (setq gnus-article-update-date-headers nil)
9510 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9513 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9514 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9515 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9516 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9517 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9518 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9519 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9523 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9524 preferred format automatically.
9527 @node Article Display
9528 @subsection Article Display
9534 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9535 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9537 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9538 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9540 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9541 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9543 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9544 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9546 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9547 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9549 Gravatars reside on-line and are fetched from
9550 @uref{http://www.gravatar.com/} (@pxref{Gravatars}).
9552 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9557 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9558 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9559 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9560 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9563 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9564 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9565 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9566 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9569 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9570 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9571 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9574 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9575 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9576 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9579 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9580 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9581 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9582 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9585 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9586 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9587 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9588 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9591 @kindex W D g (Summary)
9592 @findex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
9593 Gravatarify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9596 @kindex W D h (Summary)
9597 @findex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
9598 Gravatarify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9599 (@code{gnus-treat-from-gravatar}).
9602 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9603 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9604 Remove all images from the article buffer
9605 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9608 @kindex W D W (Summary)
9609 @findex gnus-html-show-images
9610 If you're reading an @acronym{HTML} article rendered with
9611 @code{gnus-article-html}, then you can insert any blocked images in
9612 the buffer with this command.
9613 (@code{gnus-html-show-images}).
9619 @node Article Signature
9620 @subsection Article Signature
9622 @cindex article signature
9624 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9625 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9626 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9627 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9628 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9629 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9630 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9631 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9632 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9635 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9636 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9637 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9638 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9639 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9640 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9641 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9642 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9645 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9648 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9649 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9650 signature when displaying articles.
9654 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9657 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9660 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9661 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9663 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9664 in question is not a signature.
9667 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9668 listed above. Here's an example:
9671 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9672 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9675 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9676 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9677 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9678 signature after all.
9681 @node Article Miscellanea
9682 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9686 @kindex A t (Summary)
9687 @findex gnus-article-babel
9688 Translate the article from one language to another
9689 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9695 @section MIME Commands
9696 @cindex MIME decoding
9698 @cindex viewing attachments
9700 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9701 instance, @kbd{3 K v} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9707 @kindex K v (Summary)
9708 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9711 @kindex K o (Summary)
9712 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9715 @kindex K O (Summary)
9716 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} part and strip it
9717 from the article. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred
9718 via the message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
9721 @kindex K r (Summary)
9722 Replace the @acronym{MIME} part with an external body.
9725 @kindex K d (Summary)
9726 Delete the @acronym{MIME} part and add some information about the
9730 @kindex K c (Summary)
9731 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9734 @kindex K e (Summary)
9735 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9738 @kindex K i (Summary)
9739 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9742 @kindex K | (Summary)
9743 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9746 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9751 @kindex K H (Summary)
9752 @findex gnus-article-browse-html-article
9753 View @samp{text/html} parts of the current article with a WWW browser.
9754 Inline images embedded in a message using the @code{cid} scheme, as they
9755 are generally considered to be safe, will be processed properly. The
9756 message header is added to the beginning of every @acronym{HTML} part
9757 unless the prefix argument is given.
9759 Warning: Spammers use links to images (using the @code{http} scheme) in
9760 @acronym{HTML} articles to verify whether you have read the message. As
9761 this command passes the @acronym{HTML} content to the browser without
9762 eliminating these ``web bugs'' you should only use it for mails from
9765 If you always want to display @acronym{HTML} parts in the browser, set
9766 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} to @code{nil}.
9768 This command creates temporary files to pass @acronym{HTML} contents
9769 including images if any to the browser, and deletes them when exiting
9770 the group (if you want).
9773 @kindex K b (Summary)
9774 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9775 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9779 @kindex K m (Summary)
9780 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9781 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9782 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9783 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9784 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9787 @kindex X m (Summary)
9788 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9789 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9790 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9791 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9794 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9795 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9796 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9797 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9800 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9801 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9802 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9803 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9806 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9807 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9808 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9809 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9811 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9812 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9813 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9814 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9815 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9816 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9819 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9820 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9821 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9822 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9829 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9830 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9831 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9832 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9835 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9838 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9842 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9843 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9844 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9845 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9846 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9847 default is @code{t}.
9849 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9850 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9853 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9854 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9855 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9856 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9857 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}. Only
9858 single-part yEnc encoded attachments can be decoded. There's no support
9859 for encoding in Gnus.
9861 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9862 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9863 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9864 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9865 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9866 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9867 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9868 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9870 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9871 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9872 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9873 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9874 displayed. This variable overrides
9875 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9876 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9879 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9880 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9881 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9883 You could also add @code{"multipart/alternative"} to this list to
9884 display radio buttons that allow you to choose one of two media types
9885 those mails include. See also @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}
9886 (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The
9887 Emacs MIME Manual}).
9889 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9890 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9891 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9892 default value is @code{nil}.
9894 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9895 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9896 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9897 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9898 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9899 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9900 save all jpegs into some directory).
9902 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9905 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9906 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9908 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9909 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9910 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9911 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9912 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9915 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9916 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9917 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9919 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9920 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9921 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9923 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9924 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9925 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9927 If displaying @samp{text/html} is discouraged, see
9928 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}, images or other material inside a
9929 "multipart/related" part might be overlooked when this variable is
9930 @code{nil}. @ref{Display Customization, Display Customization, ,
9931 emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}.
9933 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9934 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9935 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If @code{t}, it
9936 overrides @code{nil} values of
9937 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9938 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9940 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9941 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9942 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9943 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9945 Ready-made functions include@*
9946 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9947 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9948 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9949 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9950 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9951 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9952 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9953 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9954 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9955 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9956 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9957 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9959 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9960 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9962 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9963 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9964 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9967 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9968 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9969 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9970 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9974 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9983 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9984 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9985 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9986 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9987 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9988 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9989 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp}.
9991 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9992 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9993 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9994 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9996 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9997 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9998 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9999 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
10000 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
10001 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
10002 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
10003 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
10004 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
10006 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
10007 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
10008 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
10009 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
10010 quoted-printable header encoding.
10012 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
10013 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
10014 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
10018 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
10021 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
10022 means encode all charsets),
10024 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
10025 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
10026 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
10033 @cindex coding system aliases
10034 @cindex preferred charset
10036 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
10037 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
10038 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
10040 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
10042 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
10043 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
10046 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
10047 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
10050 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
10051 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
10053 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
10056 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
10059 This will almost do the right thing.
10061 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
10065 (codepage-setup 1251)
10066 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
10070 @node Article Commands
10071 @section Article Commands
10078 @kindex A P (Summary)
10079 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
10080 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
10081 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
10082 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
10083 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
10084 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
10087 @vindex gnus-fetch-partial-articles
10088 @findex gnus-summary-show-complete-article
10089 If @code{<backend>-fetch-partial-articles} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
10090 fetch partial articles, if the backend it fetches them from supports
10091 it. Currently only @code{nnimap} does. If you're looking at a
10092 partial article, and want to see the complete article instead, then
10093 the @kbd{A C} command (@code{gnus-summary-show-complete-article}) will
10099 @node Summary Sorting
10100 @section Summary Sorting
10101 @cindex summary sorting
10103 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
10104 can't really see why you'd want that.
10109 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10110 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
10111 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
10113 @item C-c C-s C-m C-n
10114 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
10115 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number
10116 Sort by most recent article number
10117 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-number}).
10120 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
10121 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
10122 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
10125 @kindex C-c C-s C-t (Summary)
10126 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient
10127 Sort by recipient (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-recipient}).
10130 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
10131 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
10132 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
10135 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
10136 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
10137 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
10139 @item C-c C-s C-m C-d
10140 @kindex C-c C-s C-m C-d (Summary)
10141 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date
10142 Sort by most recent date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-most-recent-date}).
10145 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
10146 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
10147 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
10150 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
10151 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
10152 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
10155 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
10156 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
10157 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
10160 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
10161 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
10162 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
10165 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
10166 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
10167 Sort using the default sorting method
10168 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
10171 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
10172 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
10173 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
10174 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
10175 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
10178 If a prefix argument if given, the sort order is reversed.
10181 @node Finding the Parent
10182 @section Finding the Parent
10183 @cindex parent articles
10184 @cindex referring articles
10188 @kindex ^ (Summary)
10189 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
10190 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
10191 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
10192 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
10193 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
10194 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
10195 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
10196 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
10197 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
10199 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
10200 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
10201 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
10202 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
10203 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
10206 @item A R (Summary)
10207 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
10208 @kindex A R (Summary)
10209 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
10210 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
10212 @item A T (Summary)
10213 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
10214 @kindex A T (Summary)
10215 Display the full thread where the current article appears
10216 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
10217 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
10218 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
10219 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
10220 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
10221 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
10223 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
10224 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
10225 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
10226 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
10227 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
10228 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
10230 @item M-^ (Summary)
10231 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
10232 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
10234 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
10235 You can also ask Gnus for an arbitrary article, no matter what group it
10236 belongs to. @kbd{M-^} (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you
10237 for a @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read
10238 thingies that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}.
10239 You have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
10241 Gnus looks for the @code{Message-ID} in the headers that have already
10242 been fetched, but also tries all the select methods specified by
10243 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} if it is not found.
10246 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
10247 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
10248 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
10249 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
10250 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
10251 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
10254 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
10255 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
10256 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
10259 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
10260 then ask Google if that fails:
10263 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
10265 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
10268 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
10269 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
10270 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
10271 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
10272 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
10273 group. @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
10275 Fortunately, the special @code{nnregistry} back end is able to locate
10276 articles in any groups, regardless of their back end (@pxref{Registry
10277 Article Refer Method, fetching by @code{Message-ID} using the
10280 @node Alternative Approaches
10281 @section Alternative Approaches
10283 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
10284 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
10287 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
10288 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
10292 @node Pick and Read
10293 @subsection Pick and Read
10294 @cindex pick and read
10296 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
10297 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
10298 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
10299 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
10301 @findex gnus-pick-mode
10302 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
10303 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
10304 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
10305 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
10306 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
10308 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
10313 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
10314 Pick the article or thread on the current line
10315 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10316 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
10317 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
10318 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
10319 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
10320 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
10323 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
10324 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
10325 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
10326 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
10330 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
10331 Unpick the thread or article
10332 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
10333 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
10334 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
10335 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
10336 the thread or article at that line.
10340 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
10341 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
10342 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
10343 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
10344 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
10345 will still be visible when you are reading.
10349 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
10350 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
10351 which is mapped to the same function
10352 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
10354 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
10357 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
10360 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
10361 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
10363 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
10364 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
10365 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
10367 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
10368 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
10369 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
10370 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
10371 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
10372 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
10373 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
10376 @node Binary Groups
10377 @subsection Binary Groups
10378 @cindex binary groups
10380 @findex gnus-binary-mode
10381 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
10382 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
10383 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
10384 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
10385 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
10386 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
10389 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
10390 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
10391 command, when you have turned on this mode
10392 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
10394 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
10395 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
10399 @section Tree Display
10402 @vindex gnus-use-trees
10403 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
10404 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
10405 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
10406 in the tree buffer.
10408 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
10411 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
10412 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
10413 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
10415 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10416 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
10417 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
10418 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
10419 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
10421 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
10422 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
10423 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
10424 default is @code{modeline}.
10426 @item gnus-tree-line-format
10427 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
10428 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
10429 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
10430 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
10431 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
10432 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
10438 The name of the poster.
10440 The @code{From} header.
10442 The number of the article.
10444 The opening bracket.
10446 The closing bracket.
10451 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
10453 Variables related to the display are:
10456 @item gnus-tree-brackets
10457 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
10458 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
10459 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
10461 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
10462 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
10463 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
10465 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
10467 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10468 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
10469 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
10470 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
10474 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
10475 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
10476 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
10477 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
10478 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
10479 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
10480 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
10481 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
10482 other windows displayed next to it.
10484 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
10488 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
10489 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
10492 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
10493 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
10494 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10495 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
10496 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
10497 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
10498 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
10502 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
10505 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
10515 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
10520 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
10521 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
10523 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
10525 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
10531 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
10532 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
10533 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
10536 (setq gnus-use-trees t
10537 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
10538 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
10539 (gnus-add-configuration
10543 (summary 0.75 point)
10548 @xref{Window Layout}.
10551 @node Mail Group Commands
10552 @section Mail Group Commands
10553 @cindex mail group commands
10555 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10556 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10558 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10559 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10564 @kindex B e (Summary)
10565 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10566 @cindex expiring mail
10567 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10568 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10569 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10570 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10573 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10574 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10575 @cindex expiring mail
10576 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10577 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10578 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10579 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10582 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10583 @cindex deleting mail
10584 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10585 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10586 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10587 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10588 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10591 @kindex B m (Summary)
10593 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10594 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10595 Move the article from one mail group to another
10596 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10597 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10600 @kindex B c (Summary)
10602 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10603 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10604 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10605 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10606 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10609 @kindex B B (Summary)
10610 @cindex crosspost mail
10611 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10612 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10613 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10614 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10615 be properly updated.
10618 @kindex B i (Summary)
10619 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10620 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10621 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10622 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10625 @kindex B I (Summary)
10626 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10627 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10628 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10629 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10632 @kindex B r (Summary)
10633 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10634 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10635 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10636 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10637 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10638 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10639 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10640 (which is the default).
10644 @kindex B w (Summary)
10645 @kindex e (Summary)
10646 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10647 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10648 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10649 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10650 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10651 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10652 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10655 @kindex B q (Summary)
10656 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10657 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10658 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10659 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10662 @kindex B t (Summary)
10663 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10664 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10665 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10668 @kindex B p (Summary)
10669 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10670 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10671 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10672 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10673 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10674 article from your news server (or rather, from
10675 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10676 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10677 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10678 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10679 just not have arrived yet.
10682 @kindex K E (Summary)
10683 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10684 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10685 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10686 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10687 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10691 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10692 @cindex moving articles
10693 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10694 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10695 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10696 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10697 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10698 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10699 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10702 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10703 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10704 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10705 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10709 @node Various Summary Stuff
10710 @section Various Summary Stuff
10713 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10714 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10715 * Summary Generation Commands::
10716 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10720 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10721 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10722 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10723 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10724 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10725 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10727 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10728 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10729 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10732 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10733 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10734 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10736 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10737 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10738 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10739 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10740 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10741 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10744 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10745 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10746 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10747 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10748 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10750 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10751 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10752 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10755 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10756 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10757 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10758 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10759 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10760 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10761 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10762 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10763 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10764 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10766 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10767 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10768 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10769 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10770 list of articles to be selected.
10772 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10773 the list in one particular group:
10776 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10777 (if (string= group "some.group")
10778 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10782 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10783 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10784 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10785 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10786 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10789 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10790 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10791 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10792 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10793 variable will be used instead.
10795 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10796 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10797 buffers. For example:
10800 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10801 '(message-use-followup-to
10802 (gnus-visible-headers .
10803 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10806 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10808 @vindex gnus-propagate-marks
10809 @item gnus-propagate-marks
10810 If non-@code{nil}, propagate marks to the backends for possible
10811 storing. @xref{NNTP marks}, and friends, for a more fine-grained
10817 @node Summary Group Information
10818 @subsection Summary Group Information
10823 @kindex H d (Summary)
10824 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10825 Give a brief description of the current group
10826 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10827 rereading the description from the server.
10830 @kindex H h (Summary)
10831 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10832 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10833 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10836 @kindex H i (Summary)
10837 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10838 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10842 @node Searching for Articles
10843 @subsection Searching for Articles
10848 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10849 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10850 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10851 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10854 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10855 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10856 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10857 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10860 @kindex M-S (Summary)
10861 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward
10862 Repeat the previous search forwards
10863 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-forward}).
10866 @kindex M-R (Summary)
10867 @findex gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward
10868 Repeat the previous search backwards
10869 (@code{gnus-summary-repeat-search-article-backward}).
10872 @kindex & (Summary)
10873 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10874 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10875 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10876 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10877 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10878 search backward instead.
10880 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10881 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10884 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10885 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10886 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10887 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10890 @node Summary Generation Commands
10891 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10896 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10897 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10898 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10901 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10902 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10903 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10904 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10907 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10908 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10909 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10910 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10913 @kindex Y t (Summary)
10914 @findex gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles
10915 Pull all ticked articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10916 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-ticked-articles}).
10921 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10922 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10928 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10929 @kindex A D (Summary)
10930 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10931 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10932 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10933 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10934 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10935 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10936 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10937 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10940 @vindex gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit
10941 The variable @code{gnus-auto-select-on-ephemeral-exit} controls what
10942 article should be selected after exiting a digest group. Valid values
10947 Select the next article.
10950 Select the next unread article.
10952 @item next-noselect
10953 Move the cursor to the next article. This is the default.
10955 @item next-unread-noselect
10956 Move the cursor to the next unread article.
10959 If it has any other value or there is no next (unread) article, the
10960 article selected before entering to the digest group will appear.
10963 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10964 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10965 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10966 several documents into one biiig group
10967 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10968 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10969 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10970 command understands the process/prefix convention
10971 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10974 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10975 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10976 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10977 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10978 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10979 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10982 @kindex = (Summary)
10983 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10984 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10985 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10988 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10989 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10990 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10991 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10994 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10995 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10996 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10997 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
11002 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
11003 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
11004 @cindex summary exit
11005 @cindex exiting groups
11007 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
11008 group and return you to the group buffer.
11015 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
11016 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
11017 @kindex q (Summary)
11018 @findex gnus-summary-exit
11019 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
11020 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
11021 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
11022 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
11023 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
11024 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
11025 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
11026 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
11027 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
11028 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
11029 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
11033 @kindex Z E (Summary)
11034 @kindex Q (Summary)
11035 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
11036 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
11037 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
11041 @kindex Z c (Summary)
11042 @kindex c (Summary)
11043 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
11044 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
11045 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
11046 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
11049 @kindex Z C (Summary)
11050 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
11051 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
11052 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
11055 @kindex Z n (Summary)
11056 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
11057 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
11058 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
11061 @kindex Z p (Summary)
11062 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group
11063 Mark all articles as read and go to the previous group
11064 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-prev-group}).
11068 @kindex Z R (Summary)
11069 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
11070 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
11071 Exit this group, and then enter it again
11072 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
11073 all articles, both read and unread.
11077 @kindex Z G (Summary)
11078 @kindex M-g (Summary)
11079 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
11080 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
11081 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
11082 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
11083 articles, both read and unread.
11086 @kindex Z N (Summary)
11087 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
11088 Exit the group and go to the next group
11089 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
11092 @kindex Z P (Summary)
11093 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
11094 Exit the group and go to the previous group
11095 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
11098 @kindex Z s (Summary)
11099 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
11100 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
11101 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
11102 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
11103 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
11106 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
11107 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
11108 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
11109 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
11111 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
11112 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
11113 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
11114 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
11115 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
11116 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
11117 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
11118 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
11119 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
11120 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
11121 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
11122 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
11124 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
11126 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
11127 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
11128 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
11129 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
11130 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
11131 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
11132 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
11133 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
11134 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
11137 @node Crosspost Handling
11138 @section Crosspost Handling
11142 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
11143 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
11144 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
11145 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
11146 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
11149 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
11150 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
11151 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
11152 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
11153 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
11155 @cindex cross-posting
11157 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
11158 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
11159 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
11160 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
11161 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
11162 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
11163 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
11164 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
11165 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
11166 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
11167 the cross reference mechanism.
11169 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
11170 @cindex overview.fmt
11171 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
11172 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
11173 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
11174 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
11175 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
11176 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
11179 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
11180 set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
11181 considerably. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
11185 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
11188 @node Duplicate Suppression
11189 @section Duplicate Suppression
11191 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
11192 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
11193 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
11194 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
11199 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
11200 is evil and not very common.
11203 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
11204 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
11207 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
11208 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
11211 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
11214 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
11215 well, but these four are the most common situations.
11217 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
11218 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
11219 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
11220 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
11221 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
11222 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
11223 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
11226 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
11227 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
11228 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
11229 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
11230 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
11231 saw the article in.
11234 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
11235 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
11236 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
11238 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
11239 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
11240 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
11241 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
11242 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
11243 session are suppressed.
11245 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
11246 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
11247 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
11248 suppression list. The default is 10000.
11250 @item gnus-duplicate-file
11251 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
11252 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
11253 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
11256 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
11257 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
11258 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
11259 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
11260 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
11261 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
11262 to you to figure out, I think.
11267 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
11268 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
11269 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
11274 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
11275 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
11276 to GnuPG included with Emacs is called EasyPG (@pxref{Top, ,EasyPG,
11277 epa, EasyPG Assistant user's manual}), but PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg,
11278 PGG Manual}), and Mailcrypt are also supported.
11281 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
11282 or newer is recommended.
11286 The variables that control security functionality on reading/composing
11290 @item mm-verify-option
11291 @vindex mm-verify-option
11292 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
11293 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
11294 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11296 @item mm-decrypt-option
11297 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
11298 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
11299 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
11300 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
11302 @item mm-sign-option
11303 @vindex mm-sign-option
11304 Option of creating signed parts. @code{nil}, use default signing
11305 keys; @code{guided}, ask user to select signing keys from the menu.
11307 @item mm-encrypt-option
11308 @vindex mm-encrypt-option
11309 Option of creating encrypted parts. @code{nil}, use the first
11310 public-key matching the @samp{From:} header as the recipient;
11311 @code{guided}, ask user to select recipient keys from the menu.
11314 @vindex mml1991-use
11315 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11316 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but @code{pgg},
11317 and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported although
11318 deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available interface in
11322 @vindex mml2015-use
11323 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
11324 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{epg}, but
11325 @code{pgg}, and @code{mailcrypt} are also supported
11326 although deprecated. By default, Gnus uses the first available
11327 interface in this order.
11331 By default the buttons that display security information are not
11332 shown, because they clutter reading the actual e-mail. You can type
11333 @kbd{K b} manually to display the information. Use the
11334 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types} and
11335 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} variables to control this
11336 permanently. @ref{MIME Commands} for further details, and hints on
11337 how to customize these variables to always display security
11340 @cindex snarfing keys
11341 @cindex importing PGP keys
11342 @cindex PGP key ring import
11343 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
11344 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
11345 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
11346 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
11347 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
11348 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
11349 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
11350 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
11351 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
11354 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
11357 This happens to also be the default action defined in
11358 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
11360 More information on how to set things for sending outgoing signed and
11361 encrypted messages up can be found in the message manual
11362 (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
11365 @section Mailing List
11366 @cindex mailing list
11369 @kindex A M (summary)
11370 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
11371 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
11372 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
11373 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
11376 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
11381 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
11382 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
11383 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
11386 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
11387 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
11388 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
11391 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
11392 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
11393 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
11397 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
11398 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
11399 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
11402 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
11403 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
11404 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
11407 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
11408 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
11409 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
11414 @node Article Buffer
11415 @chapter Article Buffer
11416 @cindex article buffer
11418 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
11419 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
11420 tell Gnus otherwise.
11423 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
11424 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
11425 * HTML:: Reading @acronym{HTML} messages.
11426 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
11427 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
11428 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
11432 @node Hiding Headers
11433 @section Hiding Headers
11434 @cindex hiding headers
11435 @cindex deleting headers
11437 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
11438 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
11440 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
11441 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
11442 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
11443 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
11444 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
11445 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
11446 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
11447 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
11448 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
11450 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
11454 @item gnus-visible-headers
11455 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
11456 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
11457 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
11458 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
11460 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
11461 the article and the subject, you'd say:
11464 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
11467 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11470 @item gnus-ignored-headers
11471 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
11472 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
11473 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
11474 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
11475 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
11477 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
11478 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
11481 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
11484 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
11487 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
11488 variable will have no effect.
11492 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
11493 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
11494 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
11495 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
11496 the headers are to be displayed.
11498 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
11499 and then the subject, you might say something like:
11502 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
11505 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
11506 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
11508 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
11509 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
11510 You can hide further boring headers by setting
11511 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
11512 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
11513 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
11514 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
11517 These conditions are:
11520 Remove all empty headers.
11522 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
11523 @code{Newsgroups} header.
11525 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
11526 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
11529 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
11532 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11533 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
11535 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
11536 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11538 Remove the @code{Cc} header if it only contains the address identical to
11539 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
11541 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
11544 Remove the @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} header if it is very long.
11546 Remove all @code{To} and/or @code{Cc} headers if there are more than one.
11549 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
11552 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
11553 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
11556 This is also the default value for this variable.
11560 @section Using MIME
11561 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11563 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
11564 while people stand around yawning.
11566 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
11567 while all newsreaders die of fear.
11569 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
11570 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
11571 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
11573 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
11574 @findex gnus-display-mime
11575 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
11576 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
11577 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
11578 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
11580 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
11581 @acronym{MIME} button:
11584 @findex gnus-article-press-button
11585 @item RET (Article)
11586 @kindex RET (Article)
11587 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
11588 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
11589 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
11590 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
11591 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
11592 object is displayed inline.
11594 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
11595 @item M-RET (Article)
11596 @kindex M-RET (Article)
11598 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11599 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
11601 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
11603 @kindex t (Article)
11604 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
11605 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
11607 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
11609 @kindex C (Article)
11610 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
11611 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
11613 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11615 @kindex o (Article)
11616 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11617 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11619 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11620 @item C-o (Article)
11621 @kindex C-o (Article)
11622 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11623 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11624 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11625 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11626 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11627 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11629 @findex gnus-mime-replace-part
11631 @kindex r (Article)
11632 Prompt for a file name, replace the @acronym{MIME} object with an
11633 external body refering to the file via the message/external-body
11634 @acronym{MIME} type. (@code{gnus-mime-replace-part}).
11636 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11638 @kindex d (Article)
11639 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11640 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11641 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11643 @c FIXME: gnus-auto-select-part should be documented here
11645 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11647 @kindex c (Article)
11648 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11649 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). If given a prefix, copy the raw contents
11650 without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual
11651 charset stuff (see @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in
11652 @ref{Paging the Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11653 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11654 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11655 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11657 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11659 @kindex p (Article)
11660 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11661 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11662 @file{.mailcap} file.
11664 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11666 @kindex i (Article)
11667 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11668 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as @samp{text/plain}. If given a prefix, insert
11669 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11670 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11671 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11672 Article}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and @file{.bz2} are
11673 automatically decompressed depending on @code{jka-compr} regardless of
11674 @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed Files,, Accessing
11675 Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11677 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11679 @kindex E (Article)
11680 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11681 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11682 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11684 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11686 @kindex e (Article)
11687 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11688 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11690 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11692 @kindex | (Article)
11693 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11695 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11697 @kindex . (Article)
11698 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11699 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11703 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11704 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11705 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11707 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11708 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11709 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11710 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11711 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11712 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11713 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11714 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11715 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11717 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11719 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11723 @section @acronym{HTML}
11724 @cindex @acronym{HTML}
11726 If you have @code{w3m} installed on your system, Gnus can display
11727 @acronym{HTML} articles in the article buffer. There are many Gnus
11728 add-ons for doing this, using various approaches, but there's one
11729 (sort of) built-in method that's used by default.
11731 For a complete overview, consult @xref{Display Customization,
11732 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. This
11733 section only describes the default method.
11736 @item mm-text-html-renderer
11737 @vindex mm-text-html-renderer
11738 If set to @code{gnus-article-html}, Gnus will use the built-in method,
11739 that's based on @code{w3m}.
11741 @item gnus-blocked-images
11742 @vindex gnus-blocked-images
11743 External images that have @acronym{URL}s that match this regexp won't
11744 be fetched and displayed. For instance, do block all @acronym{URL}s
11745 that have the string ``ads'' in them, do the following:
11748 (setq gnus-blocked-images "ads")
11751 This can also be a function to be evaluated. If so, it will be
11752 called with the group name as the parameter. The default value is
11753 @code{gnus-block-private-groups}, which will return @samp{"."} for
11754 anything that isn't a newsgroup. This means that no external images
11755 will be fetched as a result of reading mail, so that nobody can use
11756 web bugs (and the like) to track whether you've read email.
11758 Also @pxref{Misc Article} for @code{gnus-inhibit-images}.
11760 @item gnus-html-cache-directory
11761 @vindex gnus-html-cache-directory
11762 Gnus will download and cache images according to how
11763 @code{gnus-blocked-images} is set. These images will be stored in
11766 @item gnus-html-cache-size
11767 @vindex gnus-html-cache-size
11768 When @code{gnus-html-cache-size} bytes have been used in that
11769 directory, the oldest files will be deleted. The default is 500MB.
11771 @item gnus-html-frame-width
11772 @vindex gnus-html-frame-width
11773 The width to use when rendering HTML. The default is 70.
11775 @item gnus-max-image-proportion
11776 @vindex gnus-max-image-proportion
11777 How big pictures displayed are in relation to the window they're in.
11778 A value of 0.7 (the default) means that they are allowed to take up
11779 70% of the width and height of the window. If they are larger than
11780 this, and Emacs supports it, then the images will be rescaled down to
11781 fit these criteria.
11785 To use this, make sure that you have @code{w3m} and @code{curl}
11786 installed. If you have, then Gnus should display @acronym{HTML}
11791 @node Customizing Articles
11792 @section Customizing Articles
11793 @cindex article customization
11795 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11796 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11797 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11798 called automatically when you select the articles.
11800 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11801 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11802 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11803 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11805 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11806 for sensible values.
11810 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11813 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11816 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11819 @code{first}: Do this treatment on the first body part.
11822 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last body part.
11825 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11829 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11830 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11831 regexps in the list.
11834 A list where the first element is not a string:
11836 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11837 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11838 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11842 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11847 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11848 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11849 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11850 considered to contain just a single part.
11852 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11853 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11854 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11855 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11856 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11857 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11858 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11861 @c Avoid sort of redundant entries in the same section for the printed
11862 @c manual, but add them in info to allow `i gnus-treat-foo-bar RET' or
11864 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize
11865 @vindex gnus-treat-buttonize-head
11866 @vindex gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences
11867 @vindex gnus-treat-overstrike
11868 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-cr
11869 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body
11870 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines
11871 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines
11872 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-pem
11873 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines
11874 @vindex gnus-treat-unsplit-urls
11875 @vindex gnus-treat-wash-html
11876 @vindex gnus-treat-date
11877 @vindex gnus-treat-from-picon
11878 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-picon
11879 @vindex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
11880 @vindex gnus-treat-from-gravatar
11881 @vindex gnus-treat-mail-gravatar
11882 @vindex gnus-treat-display-smileys
11883 @vindex gnus-treat-body-boundary
11884 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11885 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11886 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11887 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
11888 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
11889 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
11890 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
11891 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
11892 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
11893 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
11894 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
11895 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
11896 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
11897 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
11898 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
11899 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
11900 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
11901 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
11902 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
11903 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
11904 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
11907 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11908 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11909 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11910 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11913 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11914 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11916 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11918 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11919 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11920 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11921 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11922 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, first, integer)
11923 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11924 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11925 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11926 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11927 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11929 @xref{Article Washing}.
11931 @item gnus-treat-date (head)
11933 This will transform/add date headers according to the
11934 @code{gnus-article-date-headers} variable. This is a list of Date
11935 headers to display. The formats available are:
11939 Universal time, aka GMT, aka ZULU.
11942 The user's local time zone.
11945 A semi-readable English sentence.
11948 The time elapsed since the message was posted.
11950 @item combined-lapsed
11951 Both the original date header and a (shortened) elapsed time.
11954 The original date header.
11957 ISO8601 format, i.e., ``2010-11-23T22:05:21''.
11960 A format done according to the @code{gnus-article-time-format}
11965 @xref{Article Date}.
11967 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11968 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11969 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11973 @item gnus-treat-from-gravatar (head)
11974 @item gnus-treat-mail-gravatar (head)
11978 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11980 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11982 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11983 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11984 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11988 @vindex gnus-treat-display-x-face
11989 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11993 @vindex gnus-treat-display-face
11994 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11998 @vindex gnus-treat-emphasize
11999 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
12000 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-article
12001 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
12002 @vindex gnus-treat-fill-long-lines
12003 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
12004 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers
12005 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
12006 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation
12007 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
12008 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe
12009 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
12010 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-headers
12011 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
12012 @vindex gnus-treat-hide-signature
12013 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
12014 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-banner
12015 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
12016 @vindex gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers
12017 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
12019 @xref{Article Hiding}.
12021 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-citation
12022 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
12023 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-headers
12024 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
12025 @vindex gnus-treat-highlight-signature
12026 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
12028 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
12030 @vindex gnus-treat-play-sounds
12031 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
12032 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
12033 @vindex gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig
12034 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
12036 @vindex gnus-treat-unfold-headers
12037 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
12038 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-headers
12039 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
12040 @vindex gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups
12041 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
12042 @vindex gnus-treat-leading-whitespace
12043 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
12045 @xref{Article Header}.
12050 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
12051 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
12052 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
12053 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
12054 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
12058 @node Article Keymap
12059 @section Article Keymap
12061 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
12062 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
12063 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
12064 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
12067 @kindex v (Article)
12068 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Article)
12069 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
12070 command or better use it as a prefix key.
12072 A few additional keystrokes are available:
12077 @kindex SPACE (Article)
12078 @findex gnus-article-next-page
12079 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
12080 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
12083 @kindex DEL (Article)
12084 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
12085 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
12086 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
12089 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
12090 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
12091 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
12092 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
12093 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
12096 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
12097 @findex gnus-article-mail
12098 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
12099 given a prefix, include the mail.
12102 @kindex s (Article)
12103 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
12104 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
12105 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
12108 @kindex ? (Article)
12109 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
12110 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
12111 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
12114 @kindex TAB (Article)
12115 @findex gnus-article-next-button
12116 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
12117 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
12120 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
12121 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
12122 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
12125 @kindex R (Article)
12126 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
12127 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
12128 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If the region is active,
12129 only yank the text in the region.
12132 @kindex S W (Article)
12133 @findex gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original
12134 Send a wide reply to the current article and yank the current article
12135 (@code{gnus-article-wide-reply-with-original}). If the region is
12136 active, only yank the text in the region.
12139 @kindex F (Article)
12140 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
12141 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
12142 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If the region is active,
12143 only yank the text in the region.
12150 @section Misc Article
12154 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
12155 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
12156 @cindex article buffers, several
12157 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
12158 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
12161 @item gnus-widen-article-window
12162 @cindex gnus-widen-article-window
12163 If non-@code{nil}, selecting the article buffer with the @kbd{h}
12164 command will ``widen'' the article window to take the entire frame.
12166 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
12167 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
12168 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
12169 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
12170 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
12172 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
12173 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
12174 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
12175 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
12176 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
12177 the contents of the article buffer.
12179 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
12180 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
12181 Hook called in article mode buffers.
12183 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12184 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
12185 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
12186 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
12188 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
12189 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
12190 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
12191 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
12193 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
12194 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
12195 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
12196 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
12197 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
12198 with two extensions:
12203 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
12204 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
12205 performed. The characters and their meaning:
12210 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
12213 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
12216 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
12217 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
12218 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
12221 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
12224 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
12227 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasized strings in the article buffer.
12232 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
12236 @vindex gnus-break-pages
12238 @item gnus-break-pages
12239 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
12240 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
12241 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
12242 paging will not be done.
12244 @item gnus-page-delimiter
12245 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
12246 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
12250 @cindex internationalized domain names
12251 @vindex gnus-use-idna
12252 @item gnus-use-idna
12253 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
12254 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
12255 @samp{Cc} headers. @xref{IDNA, ,IDNA,message, The Message Manual},
12256 for how to compose such messages. This requires
12257 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
12258 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
12260 @vindex gnus-inhibit-images
12261 @item gnus-inhibit-images
12262 If this is non-@code{nil}, inhibit displaying of images inline in the
12263 article body. It is effective to images that are in articles as
12264 @acronym{MIME} parts, and images in @acronym{HTML} articles rendered
12265 when @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization,
12266 ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) is
12267 @code{shr} or @code{gnus-w3m}.
12272 @node Composing Messages
12273 @chapter Composing Messages
12274 @cindex composing messages
12277 @cindex sending mail
12282 @cindex using s/mime
12283 @cindex using smime
12285 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
12286 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
12287 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
12288 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
12289 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
12290 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
12293 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
12294 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
12295 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
12296 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
12297 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
12298 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
12299 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
12300 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
12301 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
12304 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
12305 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
12311 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
12314 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
12315 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
12316 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
12317 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
12318 @code{nil} include all headers.
12320 @item gnus-add-to-list
12321 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
12322 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
12323 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
12325 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12326 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
12327 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you for a confirmation when you are
12328 about to reply to news articles by mail. If it is @code{nil}, nothing
12329 interferes in what you want to do. This can also be a function
12330 receiving the group name as the only parameter which should return
12331 non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is needed, or a regular expression
12332 matching group names, where confirmation should be asked for.
12334 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
12335 press @kbd{R} anyway, this variable might be for you.
12337 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12338 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
12339 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
12340 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
12341 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
12346 @node Posting Server
12347 @section Posting Server
12349 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
12350 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
12352 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
12354 It can be quite complicated.
12356 @vindex gnus-post-method
12357 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
12358 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
12359 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
12360 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
12361 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
12362 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
12363 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
12364 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
12365 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
12368 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
12371 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
12372 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
12373 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
12374 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
12376 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
12377 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
12379 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
12380 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
12383 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
12384 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
12386 @vindex message-send-mail-function
12387 When sending mail, Message invokes the function specified by the
12388 variable @code{message-send-mail-function}. Gnus tries to set it to a
12389 value suitable for your system.
12390 @xref{Mail Variables, ,Mail Variables,message,Message manual}, for more
12393 @node POP before SMTP
12394 @section POP before SMTP
12395 @cindex pop before smtp
12396 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
12397 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
12399 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
12400 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
12401 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
12402 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
12403 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
12406 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
12407 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
12411 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
12412 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
12413 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
12414 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
12415 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
12416 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
12417 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
12418 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
12420 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
12421 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
12422 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
12423 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
12424 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
12425 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
12428 (setq mail-source-primary-source
12429 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12430 :password "secret"))
12434 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
12435 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
12438 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
12440 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
12441 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
12442 :password "secret")))
12443 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
12446 @node Mail and Post
12447 @section Mail and Post
12449 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
12453 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
12454 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
12455 @cindex mailing lists
12457 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
12458 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
12459 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
12460 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
12461 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
12462 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
12463 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
12464 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
12465 still a pain, though.
12467 @item gnus-user-agent
12468 @vindex gnus-user-agent
12471 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
12472 User-Agent header. It can be a list of symbols or a string. Valid
12473 symbols are @code{gnus} (show Gnus version) and @code{emacs} (show Emacs
12474 version). In addition to the Emacs version, you can add @code{codename}
12475 (show (S)XEmacs codename) or either @code{config} (show system
12476 configuration) or @code{type} (show system type). If you set it to a
12477 string, be sure to use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
12481 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
12482 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
12483 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
12486 @findex ispell-message
12488 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
12491 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
12492 you're in, you could say something like the following:
12495 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
12499 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
12500 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
12502 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
12505 Modify to suit your needs.
12507 @vindex gnus-message-highlight-citation
12508 If @code{gnus-message-highlight-citation} is t, different levels of
12509 citations are highlighted like in Gnus article buffers also in message
12512 @node Archived Messages
12513 @section Archived Messages
12514 @cindex archived messages
12515 @cindex sent messages
12517 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
12518 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
12519 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
12520 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
12523 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
12524 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
12527 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
12528 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
12529 use to store sent messages. The default is @code{"archive"}, and when
12530 actually being used it is expanded into:
12533 (nnfolder "archive"
12534 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
12535 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
12536 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
12537 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
12541 @vindex gnus-update-message-archive-method
12542 Note: a server like this is saved in the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file first
12543 so that it may be used as a real method of the server which is named
12544 @code{"archive"} (that is, for the case where
12545 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} is set to @code{"archive"}) ever
12546 since. If it once has been saved, it will never be updated by default
12547 even if you change the value of @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12548 afterward. Therefore, the server @code{"archive"} doesn't necessarily
12549 mean the @code{nnfolder} server like this at all times. If you want the
12550 saved method to reflect always the value of
12551 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, set the
12552 @code{gnus-update-message-archive-method} variable to a non-@code{nil}
12553 value. The default value of this variable is @code{nil}.
12556 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
12557 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
12558 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
12559 directory chosen, you could say something like:
12562 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
12563 '(nnfolder "archive"
12564 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
12565 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
12566 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
12569 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
12571 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
12572 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
12573 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
12575 This variable can be used to do the following:
12579 Messages will be saved in that group.
12581 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
12582 message will not be stored in the select method given by
12583 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
12584 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
12585 has the default value shown above. Then setting
12586 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
12587 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
12588 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
12591 @item a list of strings
12592 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
12594 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
12595 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
12598 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
12603 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
12605 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
12608 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
12610 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
12613 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
12615 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12616 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
12617 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
12618 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
12621 More complex stuff:
12623 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12624 '((if (message-news-p)
12629 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
12630 messages in one file per month:
12633 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
12634 '((if (message-news-p)
12636 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
12639 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
12640 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
12641 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
12642 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
12643 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
12644 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
12645 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
12646 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
12647 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
12648 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
12651 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12652 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
12653 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
12655 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12656 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
12657 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
12658 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
12659 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
12660 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
12661 changed in the future.
12666 @node Posting Styles
12667 @section Posting Styles
12668 @cindex posting styles
12671 All them variables, they make my head swim.
12673 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
12674 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
12675 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
12678 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
12679 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
12680 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
12681 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
12682 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
12687 (signature "Peace and happiness")
12688 (organization "What me?"))
12690 (signature "Death to everybody"))
12691 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
12692 (organization "Emacs is it")))
12695 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
12696 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
12697 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
12698 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
12699 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
12700 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
12701 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
12702 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
12704 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
12705 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
12706 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
12707 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
12708 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
12709 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
12710 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
12711 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
12712 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
12713 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
12714 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
12715 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
12716 said to @dfn{match}.
12718 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
12719 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. In
12720 addition, you can also use the @code{(@var{name} :file @var{value})}
12721 form or the @code{(@var{name} :value @var{value})} form. Where
12722 @code{:file} signifies @var{value} represents a file name and its
12723 contents should be used as the attribute value, @code{:value} signifies
12724 @var{value} does not represent a file name explicitly. The attribute
12725 name can be one of:
12728 @item @code{signature}
12729 @item @code{signature-file}
12730 @item @code{x-face-file}
12731 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
12732 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
12736 Note that the @code{signature-file} attribute honors the variable
12737 @code{message-signature-directory}.
12739 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
12740 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
12741 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
12742 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
12743 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
12745 The attribute value can be a string, a function with zero arguments
12746 (the return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used)
12747 or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be
12748 used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
12749 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current
12750 article are available through the @code{message-reply-headers}
12751 variable, which is a vector of the following headers: number subject
12752 from date id references chars lines xref extra.
12754 In the case of a string value, if the @code{match} is a regular
12755 expression, a @samp{gnus-match-substitute-replacement} is proceed on
12756 the value to replace the positional parameters @samp{\@var{n}} by the
12757 corresponding parenthetical matches (see @xref{Replacing the Text that
12758 Matched, , Text Replacement, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}.)
12760 @vindex message-reply-headers
12762 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
12763 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
12764 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
12766 @findex message-mail-p
12767 @findex message-news-p
12769 So here's a new example:
12772 (setq gnus-posting-styles
12774 (signature-file "~/.signature")
12776 (x-face-file "~/.xface")
12777 (x-url (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
12778 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
12780 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
12781 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
12782 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
12783 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
12784 (signature my-news-signature))
12785 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
12786 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
12787 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
12788 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
12789 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
12790 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
12791 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
12792 (address "user@@bar.foo")
12793 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
12794 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
12796 (From (with-current-buffer gnus-article-buffer
12797 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
12799 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
12802 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
12803 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
12804 if you fill many roles.
12805 You may also use @code{message-alternative-emails} instead.
12806 @xref{Message Headers, ,Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
12812 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
12813 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
12814 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
12815 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
12816 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
12818 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
12819 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
12820 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
12821 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
12822 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12826 @vindex nndraft-directory
12827 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12828 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12829 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12830 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12831 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12832 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12834 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12835 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12836 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12837 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12838 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12839 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12840 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12841 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12842 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12844 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12845 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12846 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12847 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12848 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12849 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12850 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12851 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12852 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12853 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12854 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12855 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12856 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12857 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12859 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12860 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12861 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12863 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12864 @kindex D e (Draft)
12865 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12866 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12867 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12869 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12872 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12873 @kindex D s (Draft)
12874 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12875 @kindex D S (Draft)
12876 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12877 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12878 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12879 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12880 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12883 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12884 @kindex D t (Draft)
12885 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12886 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12887 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12889 Finally, if you want to delete a draft, use the normal @kbd{B DEL}
12890 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12893 @node Rejected Articles
12894 @section Rejected Articles
12895 @cindex rejected articles
12897 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12898 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12899 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12900 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12902 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12903 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12904 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12905 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12906 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12908 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12909 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12910 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12912 @node Signing and encrypting
12913 @section Signing and encrypting
12915 @cindex using s/mime
12916 @cindex using smime
12918 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12919 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12920 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12921 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12923 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12924 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12925 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12926 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12927 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12928 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12929 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12930 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12931 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12932 automatically encrypted messages.
12934 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12935 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12936 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12941 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12942 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12944 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12947 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12948 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12950 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12953 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12954 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12956 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12959 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12960 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12962 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12965 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12966 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12968 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12971 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12972 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12974 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12977 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12978 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12979 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12983 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12985 @node Select Methods
12986 @chapter Select Methods
12987 @cindex foreign groups
12988 @cindex select methods
12990 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12991 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12992 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12993 personal mail group.
12995 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12996 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12997 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12998 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12999 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
13000 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
13002 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
13003 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
13005 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
13008 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
13009 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
13010 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
13011 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
13012 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
13014 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
13017 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
13018 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
13019 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
13020 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
13021 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
13022 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
13023 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
13024 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
13025 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
13029 @node Server Buffer
13030 @section Server Buffer
13032 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
13033 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
13034 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
13035 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
13036 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
13037 back end represents a virtual server.
13039 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
13040 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
13041 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
13042 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
13044 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
13045 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
13046 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
13047 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
13048 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
13049 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
13050 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
13052 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
13053 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
13056 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
13057 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
13058 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
13059 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
13060 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
13061 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
13062 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
13065 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
13066 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
13069 @node Server Buffer Format
13070 @subsection Server Buffer Format
13071 @cindex server buffer format
13073 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
13074 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
13075 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
13076 variable, with some simple extensions:
13081 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
13084 The name of this server.
13087 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
13090 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
13093 Whether this server is agentized.
13096 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
13097 The mode line can also be customized by using the
13098 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
13099 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
13109 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
13112 @node Server Commands
13113 @subsection Server Commands
13114 @cindex server commands
13120 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Server)
13121 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
13122 command or better use it as a prefix key.
13126 @findex gnus-server-add-server
13127 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
13131 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
13132 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
13136 @findex gnus-server-show-server
13137 Show the definition of a server (@code{gnus-server-show-server}).
13140 @kindex SPACE (Server)
13141 @findex gnus-server-read-server
13142 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
13146 @findex gnus-server-exit
13147 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
13151 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
13152 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
13156 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
13157 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
13161 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13162 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
13166 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
13167 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
13171 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
13172 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
13173 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
13178 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
13179 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
13180 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
13181 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
13185 @findex gnus-server-compact-server
13187 Compact all groups in the server under point
13188 (@code{gnus-server-compact-server}). Currently implemented only in
13189 nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes gaps between article numbers,
13190 hence getting a correct total article count.
13194 Some more commands for closing, disabling, and re-opening servers are
13195 listed in @ref{Unavailable Servers}.
13198 @node Example Methods
13199 @subsection Example Methods
13201 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
13204 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
13207 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
13213 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
13214 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
13217 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
13218 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
13220 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
13221 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
13225 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
13228 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
13229 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
13231 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
13232 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
13233 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
13237 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
13240 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
13243 Here's the method for a public spool:
13247 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
13248 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
13254 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
13255 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
13256 on the firewall machine and connect with
13257 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} from there to the
13258 @acronym{NNTP} server.
13259 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
13260 should probably look something like this:
13264 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)
13265 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
13266 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host"))
13269 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
13270 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
13271 configuration to the example above:
13274 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13277 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}. Here's an example for
13278 an indirect connection:
13281 (setq gnus-select-method
13283 (nntp-address "news.server.example")
13284 (nntp-via-user-name "intermediate_user_name")
13285 (nntp-via-address "intermediate.host.example")
13286 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
13287 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches ("-C"))
13288 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat)))
13291 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
13292 provide automatic authorization, of course.
13294 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
13295 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
13296 netcat connection to the news server as follows:
13300 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13301 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13302 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13306 @node Creating a Virtual Server
13307 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
13309 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
13310 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
13312 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
13313 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
13314 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
13316 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
13318 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
13319 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
13320 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
13321 will contain the following:
13331 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
13332 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
13335 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
13336 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
13337 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
13340 @node Server Variables
13341 @subsection Server Variables
13342 @cindex server variables
13343 @cindex server parameters
13345 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
13346 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
13347 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
13348 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
13349 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
13351 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
13352 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
13353 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
13354 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
13355 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
13356 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
13357 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
13358 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
13359 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
13363 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
13364 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
13365 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
13368 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
13370 @node Servers and Methods
13371 @subsection Servers and Methods
13373 Wherever you would normally use a select method
13374 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
13375 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
13376 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
13380 @node Unavailable Servers
13381 @subsection Unavailable Servers
13383 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
13384 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
13385 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
13386 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
13387 actually the case or not.
13389 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
13390 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
13391 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
13392 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
13393 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
13394 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
13395 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
13396 it will regard that server as ``down''.
13398 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
13399 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
13401 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
13402 with the following commands:
13408 @findex gnus-server-open-server
13409 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
13410 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
13414 @findex gnus-server-close-server
13415 Close the connection (if any) to the server
13416 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
13420 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
13421 Mark the current server as unreachable
13422 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
13425 @kindex M-o (Server)
13426 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
13427 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
13428 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
13431 @kindex M-c (Server)
13432 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
13433 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
13434 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
13438 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
13439 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
13440 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
13444 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
13445 Copy a server and give it a new name
13446 (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}). This can be useful if you have a
13447 complex method definition, and want to use the same definition towards
13448 a different (physical) server.
13452 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
13453 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
13459 @section Getting News
13460 @cindex reading news
13461 @cindex news back ends
13463 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
13464 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
13465 or it can read from a local spool.
13468 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13469 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
13477 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
13478 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
13479 server as the, uhm, address.
13481 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
13482 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
13483 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
13484 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
13486 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
13487 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
13488 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
13490 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
13495 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
13496 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
13497 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
13499 @cindex authentication
13500 @cindex nntp authentication
13501 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13502 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
13503 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
13504 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
13505 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
13506 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
13507 present in this hook.
13509 @item nntp-authinfo-function
13510 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
13511 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
13512 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
13513 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
13514 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
13515 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
13516 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
13517 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
13518 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
13519 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
13520 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
13524 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
13527 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
13529 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
13530 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
13531 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
13532 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
13533 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
13534 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
13535 @samp{force} is explained below.
13539 Here's an example file:
13542 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
13543 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
13546 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
13547 have to be first, for instance.
13549 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
13550 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
13551 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
13552 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
13553 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
13554 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
13555 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
13557 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
13558 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
13564 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
13565 previously mentioned.
13567 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
13569 @item nntp-server-action-alist
13570 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
13571 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
13572 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
13573 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
13576 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
13577 '(("innd" (ding))))
13580 You probably don't want to do that, though.
13582 The default value is
13585 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
13586 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
13587 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
13590 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
13591 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
13593 @item nntp-maximum-request
13594 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
13595 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
13596 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
13597 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
13598 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
13599 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
13600 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
13602 @item nntp-connection-timeout
13603 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
13604 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
13605 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
13606 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
13607 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
13608 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
13609 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
13610 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
13611 no timeouts are done.
13613 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
13614 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
13615 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
13616 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
13619 @item nntp-xover-commands
13620 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
13621 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
13623 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
13624 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
13628 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
13629 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
13630 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
13631 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
13632 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
13633 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
13634 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
13635 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
13636 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
13637 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
13638 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
13640 @item nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13641 @vindex nntp-xref-number-is-evil
13642 When Gnus refers to an article having the @code{Message-ID} that a user
13643 specifies or having the @code{Message-ID} of the parent article of the
13644 current one (@pxref{Finding the Parent}), Gnus sends a @code{HEAD}
13645 command to the @acronym{NNTP} server to know where it is, and the server
13646 returns the data containing the pairs of a group and an article number
13647 in the @code{Xref} header. Gnus normally uses the article number to
13648 refer to the article if the data shows that that article is in the
13649 current group, while it uses the @code{Message-ID} otherwise. However,
13650 some news servers, e.g., ones running Diablo, run multiple engines
13651 having the same articles but article numbers are not kept synchronized
13652 between them. In that case, the article number that appears in the
13653 @code{Xref} header varies by which engine is chosen, so you cannot refer
13654 to the parent article that is in the current group, for instance. If
13655 you connect to such a server, set this variable to a non-@code{nil}
13656 value, and Gnus never uses article numbers. For example:
13659 (setq gnus-select-method
13661 (nntp-address "newszilla.example.com")
13662 (nntp-xref-number-is-evil t)
13666 The default value of this server variable is @code{nil}.
13668 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
13669 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
13670 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
13672 @item nntp-record-commands
13673 @vindex nntp-record-commands
13674 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
13675 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
13676 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
13677 that doesn't seem to work.
13679 @item nntp-open-connection-function
13680 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
13681 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
13682 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
13683 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
13684 Seven pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped
13685 in two categories: direct connection functions (four pre-made), and
13686 indirect ones (three pre-made).
13688 @item nntp-never-echoes-commands
13689 @vindex nntp-never-echoes-commands
13690 Non-@code{nil} means the nntp server never echoes commands. It is
13691 reported that some nntps server doesn't echo commands. So, you may want
13692 to set this to non-@code{nil} in the method for such a server setting
13693 @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream} for
13694 example. The default value is @code{nil}. Note that the
13695 @code{nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands} variable
13696 overrides the @code{nil} value of this variable.
13698 @item nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13699 @vindex nntp-open-connection-functions-never-echo-commands
13700 List of functions that never echo commands. Add or set a function which
13701 you set to @code{nntp-open-connection-function} to this list if it does
13702 not echo commands. Note that a non-@code{nil} value of the
13703 @code{nntp-never-echoes-commands} variable overrides this variable. The
13704 default value is @code{(nntp-open-network-stream)}.
13706 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
13707 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
13708 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
13709 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
13710 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
13711 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
13712 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
13715 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
13718 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
13719 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
13721 @item nntp-server-list-active-group
13722 If @code{nil}, then always use @samp{GROUP} instead of @samp{LIST
13723 ACTIVE}. This is usually slower, but on misconfigured servers that
13724 don't update their active files often, this can help.
13730 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
13731 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
13732 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
13733 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
13737 @node Direct Functions
13738 @subsubsection Direct Functions
13739 @cindex direct connection functions
13741 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
13742 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
13743 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
13744 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13747 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
13748 @item nntp-open-network-stream
13749 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
13750 remote system. If both Emacs and the server supports it, the
13751 connection will be upgraded to an encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS}
13752 connection automatically.
13755 The same as the above, but don't do automatic @acronym{STARTTLS} upgrades.
13757 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
13758 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
13759 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13760 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
13761 installed. You then define a server as follows:
13764 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13765 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
13767 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13768 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
13769 (nntp-port-number 563)
13770 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13773 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
13774 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
13775 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
13776 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
13777 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
13778 then define a server as follows:
13781 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
13782 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
13784 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
13785 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
13786 (nntp-port-number 563)
13787 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
13790 @findex nntp-open-netcat-stream
13791 @item nntp-open-netcat-stream
13792 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server using the @code{netcat}
13793 program. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have
13794 the default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
13795 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
13796 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
13797 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
13801 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13802 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-netcat-stream)
13803 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
13806 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
13807 session, which is not a good idea.
13809 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
13810 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
13811 Like @code{nntp-open-netcat-stream}, but uses @code{telnet} rather than
13812 @code{netcat}. @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things
13813 like line-end-conversion, but sometimes netcat is simply
13814 not available. The previous example would turn into:
13818 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
13819 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
13820 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
13821 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
13826 @node Indirect Functions
13827 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
13828 @cindex indirect connection functions
13830 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
13831 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13832 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
13833 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
13834 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
13835 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13838 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13839 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
13840 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then uses @code{netcat} to connect
13841 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
13842 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
13844 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
13847 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13848 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13849 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13850 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13852 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13853 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13854 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13855 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
13856 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
13857 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections.
13860 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13861 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
13862 Does essentially the same, but uses @code{telnet} instead of @samp{netcat}
13863 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
13864 @code{telnet} is a bit less robust because of things like
13865 line-end-conversion, but sometimes @code{netcat} is simply not available.
13867 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13870 @item nntp-telnet-command
13871 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13872 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
13873 intermediate host. The default is @samp{telnet}.
13875 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13876 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13877 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13878 @code{nntp-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{("-8")}.
13880 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
13881 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
13882 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
13883 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
13885 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13886 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
13887 List of strings to be used as the switches to
13888 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. If you use @samp{ssh}, you may need to set
13889 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
13890 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
13891 host. The default is @code{nil}.
13894 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13895 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13897 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13898 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
13899 Does essentially the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
13900 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
13902 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13905 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13906 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13907 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13910 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13911 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13912 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13913 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13915 @item nntp-via-user-password
13916 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13917 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13919 @item nntp-via-envuser
13920 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13921 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13922 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13923 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13925 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13926 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13927 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13928 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13932 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13933 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13937 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13942 @item nntp-via-user-name
13943 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13944 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13946 @item nntp-via-address
13947 @vindex nntp-via-address
13948 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13953 @node Common Variables
13954 @subsubsection Common Variables
13956 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13957 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13958 affected (the values of the following variables will be used as the
13959 default if each virtual @code{nntp} server doesn't specify those server
13960 variables individually).
13964 @item nntp-pre-command
13965 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13966 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13967 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13968 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}). This is
13969 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13972 @vindex nntp-address
13973 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13975 @item nntp-port-number
13976 @vindex nntp-port-number
13977 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13978 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13979 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13980 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13981 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13982 not work with named ports.
13984 @item nntp-end-of-line
13985 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13986 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13987 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13988 using a non native telnet connection function.
13990 @item nntp-netcat-command
13991 @vindex nntp-netcat-command
13992 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13993 @samp{netcat}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13994 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13997 @item nntp-netcat-switches
13998 @vindex nntp-netcat-switches
13999 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-netcat-command}. The default
14005 @subsubsection NNTP marks
14006 @cindex storing NNTP marks
14008 Gnus stores marks (@pxref{Marking Articles}) for @acronym{NNTP}
14009 servers in marks files. A marks file records what marks you have set
14010 in a group and each file is specific to the corresponding server.
14011 Marks files are stored in @file{~/News/marks}
14012 (@code{nntp-marks-directory}) under a classic hierarchy resembling
14013 that of a news server, for example marks for the group
14014 @samp{gmane.discuss} on the news.gmane.org server will be stored in
14015 the file @file{~/News/marks/news.gmane.org/gmane/discuss/.marks}.
14017 Marks files are useful because you can copy the @file{~/News/marks}
14018 directory (using rsync, scp or whatever) to another Gnus installation,
14019 and it will realize what articles you have read and marked. The data
14020 in @file{~/News/marks} has priority over the same data in
14021 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14023 Note that marks files are very much server-specific: Gnus remembers
14024 the article numbers so if you don't use the same servers on both
14025 installations things are most likely to break (most @acronym{NNTP}
14026 servers do not use the same article numbers as any other server).
14027 However, if you use servers A, B, C on one installation and servers A,
14028 D, E on the other, you can sync the marks files for A and then you'll
14029 get synchronization for that server between the two installations.
14031 Using @acronym{NNTP} marks can possibly incur a performance penalty so
14032 if Gnus feels sluggish, try setting the @code{nntp-marks-is-evil}
14033 variable to @code{t}. Marks will then be stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
14039 @item nntp-marks-is-evil
14040 @vindex nntp-marks-is-evil
14041 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any marks files. The
14042 default is @code{nil}.
14044 @item nntp-marks-directory
14045 @vindex nntp-marks-directory
14046 The directory where marks for nntp groups will be stored.
14052 @subsection News Spool
14056 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
14057 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
14058 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
14061 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
14062 anything else) as the address.
14064 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
14065 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
14066 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
14067 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
14071 @item nnspool-inews-program
14072 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
14073 Program used to post an article.
14075 @item nnspool-inews-switches
14076 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
14077 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
14079 @item nnspool-spool-directory
14080 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
14081 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
14082 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
14084 @item nnspool-nov-directory
14085 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
14086 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
14087 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
14089 @item nnspool-lib-dir
14090 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
14091 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
14093 @item nnspool-active-file
14094 @vindex nnspool-active-file
14095 The name of the active file.
14097 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
14098 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
14099 The name of the group descriptions file.
14101 @item nnspool-history-file
14102 @vindex nnspool-history-file
14103 The name of the news history file.
14105 @item nnspool-active-times-file
14106 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
14107 The name of the active date file.
14109 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
14110 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
14111 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
14114 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14115 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
14117 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
14118 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
14119 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
14126 @section Using IMAP
14129 The most popular mail backend is probably @code{nnimap}, which
14130 provides access to @acronym{IMAP} servers. @acronym{IMAP} servers
14131 store mail remotely, so the client doesn't store anything locally.
14132 This means that it's a convenient choice when you're reading your mail
14133 from different locations, or with different user agents.
14136 * Connecting to an IMAP Server:: Getting started with @acronym{IMAP}.
14137 * Customizing the IMAP Connection:: Variables for @acronym{IMAP} connection.
14138 * Client-Side IMAP Splitting:: Put mail in the correct mail box.
14142 @node Connecting to an IMAP Server
14143 @subsection Connecting to an IMAP Server
14145 Connecting to an @acronym{IMAP} can be very easy. Type @kbd{B} in the
14146 group buffer, or (if your primary interest is reading email), say
14150 (setq gnus-select-method
14151 '(nnimap "imap.gmail.com"))
14154 You'll be prompted for a user name and password. If you grow tired of
14155 that, then add the following to your @file{~/.authinfo} file:
14158 machine imap.gmail.com login <username> password <password> port imap
14161 That should basically be it for most users.
14164 @node Customizing the IMAP Connection
14165 @subsection Customizing the IMAP Connection
14167 Here's an example method that's more complex:
14170 (nnimap "imap.gmail.com"
14171 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14172 (nnimap-split-methods default)
14174 (nnimap-stream ssl))
14178 @item nnimap-address
14179 The address of the server, like @samp{imap.gmail.com}.
14181 @item nnimap-server-port
14182 If the server uses a non-standard port, that can be specified here. A
14183 typical port would be @code{"imap"} or @code{"imaps"}.
14185 @item nnimap-stream
14186 How @code{nnimap} should connect to the server. Possible values are:
14190 This is the default, and this first tries the @code{ssl} setting, and
14191 then tries the @code{network} setting.
14194 This uses standard @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14197 Non-encrypted and unsafe straight socket connection, but will upgrade
14198 to encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} if both Emacs and the server
14202 Encrypted @acronym{STARTTLS} over the normal @acronym{IMAP} port.
14205 If you need to tunnel via other systems to connect to the server, you
14206 can use this option, and customize @code{nnimap-shell-program} to be
14211 @item nnimap-authenticator
14212 Some @acronym{IMAP} servers allow anonymous logins. In that case,
14213 this should be set to @code{anonymous}.
14215 @item nnimap-expunge
14216 If non-@code{nil}, expunge articles after deleting them. This is always done
14217 if the server supports UID EXPUNGE, but it's not done by default on
14218 servers that doesn't support that command.
14220 @item nnimap-streaming
14221 Virtually all @code{IMAP} server support fast streaming of data. If
14222 you have problems connecting to the server, try setting this to @code{nil}.
14224 @item nnimap-fetch-partial-articles
14225 If non-@code{nil}, fetch partial articles from the server. If set to
14226 a string, then it's interpreted as a regexp, and parts that have
14227 matching types will be fetched. For instance, @samp{"text/"} will
14228 fetch all textual parts, while leaving the rest on the server.
14233 @node Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14234 @subsection Client-Side IMAP Splitting
14236 Many people prefer to do the sorting/splitting of mail into their mail
14237 boxes on the @acronym{IMAP} server. That way they don't have to
14238 download the mail they're not all that interested in.
14240 If you do want to do client-side mail splitting, then the following
14241 variables are relevant:
14245 This is the @acronym{IMAP} mail box that will be scanned for new mail.
14247 @item nnimap-split-methods
14248 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-methods} (@pxref{Splitting
14249 Mail}), except the symbol @code{default}, which means that it should
14250 use the value of the @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable.
14252 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14253 Uses the same syntax as @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14255 @item nnimap-unsplittable-articles
14256 List of flag symbols to ignore when doing splitting. That is,
14257 articles that have these flags won't be considered when splitting.
14258 The default is @samp{(%Deleted %Seen)}.
14262 Here's a complete example @code{nnimap} backend with a client-side
14263 ``fancy'' splitting method:
14266 (nnimap "imap.example.com"
14267 (nnimap-inbox "INBOX")
14268 (nnimap-split-methods
14269 (| ("MailScanner-SpamCheck" "spam" "spam.detected")
14270 (to "foo@@bar.com" "foo")
14276 @section Getting Mail
14277 @cindex reading mail
14280 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
14284 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
14285 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
14286 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
14287 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
14288 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
14289 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
14290 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
14291 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
14292 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
14293 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
14294 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
14295 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
14296 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
14300 @node Mail in a Newsreader
14301 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
14303 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
14304 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
14305 of a culture shock.
14307 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
14308 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
14310 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
14311 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
14312 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
14313 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
14315 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
14317 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
14318 deleted? How awful!
14320 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
14321 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
14322 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
14323 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
14326 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
14327 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
14328 they want to treat a message.
14330 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
14331 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
14332 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
14333 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
14334 archived somewhere else.
14336 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
14337 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
14338 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
14339 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
14340 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
14342 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
14343 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
14344 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
14346 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
14347 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
14350 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
14351 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
14352 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
14353 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
14354 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
14356 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
14357 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
14358 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
14359 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
14360 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
14361 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
14365 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
14366 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
14368 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
14369 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
14370 and things will happen automatically.
14372 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
14373 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14376 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14379 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
14380 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
14381 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
14382 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
14383 like any other group.
14385 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
14388 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14389 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14390 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14394 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
14395 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
14396 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
14399 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
14400 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
14401 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
14404 @node Splitting Mail
14405 @subsection Splitting Mail
14406 @cindex splitting mail
14407 @cindex mail splitting
14408 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
14410 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
14411 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
14412 to be split into groups.
14415 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14416 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
14417 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
14418 ("mail.other" "")))
14421 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
14422 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
14423 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
14424 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
14425 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
14426 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
14427 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
14430 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
14434 In that case, @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether
14435 the inserted text should be made lowercase. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14437 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14438 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
14439 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
14440 mail belongs in that group.
14442 @cindex @samp{bogus} group
14443 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
14444 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{""} so that it matches any mails
14445 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
14446 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first rule
14447 to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled. In
14448 that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) If no rule matched, the mail
14449 will end up in the @samp{bogus} group. When new groups are created by
14450 splitting mail, you may want to run @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to
14451 see the new groups. This also applies to the @samp{bogus} group.
14453 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
14454 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
14455 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
14456 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
14457 thinks should carry this mail message.
14459 This variable can also be a fancy split method. For the syntax,
14460 see @ref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14462 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
14463 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
14464 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
14465 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
14467 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
14468 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
14469 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
14470 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
14471 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{""}) group.
14473 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
14476 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
14477 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
14478 links. If that's the case for you, set
14479 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
14480 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
14482 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
14483 @findex nnmail-split-history
14484 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
14485 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
14486 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
14487 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
14490 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
14491 Header lines longer than the value of
14492 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
14495 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
14496 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
14497 By default, splitting does not decode headers, so you can not match on
14498 non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. But it is useful if you want to match
14499 articles based on the raw header data. To enable it, set the
14500 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} variable to a non-@code{nil} value.
14501 In addition, the value of the @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset}
14502 variable is used for decoding non-@acronym{MIME} encoded string when
14503 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} is non-@code{nil}. The default
14504 value is @code{nil} which means not to decode non-@acronym{MIME} encoded
14505 string. A suitable value for you will be @code{undecided} or be the
14506 charset used normally in mails you are interested in.
14508 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14509 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
14510 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
14511 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
14512 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
14513 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
14514 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
14515 other kinds of entries.)
14517 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
14518 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
14519 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
14520 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
14521 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
14522 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
14523 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
14524 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
14525 month's rent money.
14529 @subsection Mail Sources
14531 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
14532 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
14533 maildir, for instance.
14536 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
14537 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
14538 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
14542 @node Mail Source Specifiers
14543 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
14545 @cindex mail server
14548 @cindex mail source
14550 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
14551 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
14556 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
14559 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
14560 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
14561 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
14564 The @code{mail-sources} is global for all mail groups. You can specify
14565 an additional mail source for a particular group by including the
14566 @code{group} mail specifier in @code{mail-sources}, and setting a
14567 @code{mail-source} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) specifying
14568 a single mail source. When this is used, @code{mail-sources} is
14569 typically just @code{(group)}; the @code{mail-source} parameter for a
14570 group might look like this:
14573 (mail-source . (file :path "home/user/spools/foo.spool"))
14576 This means that the group's (and only this group's) messages will be
14577 fetched from the spool file @samp{/user/spools/foo.spool}.
14579 The following mail source types are available:
14583 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
14589 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
14590 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
14591 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
14595 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14598 An example file mail source:
14601 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
14604 Or using the default file name:
14610 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
14611 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
14612 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
14613 mail spool while moving the mail.
14615 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
14619 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
14622 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
14626 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
14629 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
14631 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
14634 Alter this script to fit the @samp{movemail} and temporary
14635 file you want to use.
14639 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
14640 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
14641 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
14642 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
14643 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
14644 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
14645 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
14646 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
14647 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
14648 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
14650 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
14651 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
14652 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
14653 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
14659 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
14663 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
14667 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
14668 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
14669 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
14670 predicate are considered.
14674 Script run before/after fetching mail.
14678 An example directory mail source:
14681 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
14686 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14692 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
14693 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14696 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
14697 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
14698 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
14699 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
14700 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
14703 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
14707 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
14708 the user is prompted.
14711 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
14712 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
14715 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
14718 The valid format specifier characters are:
14722 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
14723 included in this string.
14726 The name of the server.
14729 The port number of the server.
14732 The user name to use.
14735 The password to use.
14738 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14739 corresponding keywords.
14742 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14743 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14746 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
14747 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
14750 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
14751 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
14752 mail should be moved to.
14754 @item :authentication
14755 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
14756 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
14761 @vindex pop3-movemail
14762 @vindex pop3-leave-mail-on-server
14763 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
14764 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used. If @code{pop3-leave-mail-on-server}
14765 is non-@code{nil} the mail is to be left on the @acronym{POP} server
14766 after fetching when using @code{pop3-movemail}. Note that POP servers
14767 maintain no state information between sessions, so what the client
14768 believes is there and what is actually there may not match up. If they
14769 do not, then you may get duplicate mails or the whole thing can fall
14770 apart and leave you with a corrupt mailbox.
14772 Here are some examples for getting mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
14773 Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server, using the default user
14774 name, and default fetcher:
14780 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
14783 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
14784 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
14787 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
14790 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
14794 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
14795 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
14796 contains exactly one mail.
14802 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
14803 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
14806 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
14807 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
14809 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
14810 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
14811 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
14814 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
14815 from locking problems).
14819 Two example maildir mail sources:
14822 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
14823 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
14827 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
14832 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
14833 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
14834 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
14835 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
14836 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{Using IMAP}, for more information.
14842 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
14843 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
14846 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
14847 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
14850 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
14854 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
14858 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
14859 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
14860 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
14861 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
14863 @item :authentication
14864 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
14865 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
14866 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
14867 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
14870 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
14871 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
14872 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
14878 Make sure nothing is interfering with the output of the program, e.g.,
14879 don't forget to redirect the error output to the void. The valid format
14880 specifier characters are:
14884 The name of the server.
14887 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
14890 The port number of the server.
14893 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
14894 corresponding keywords.
14897 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
14898 which normally is the mailbox which receives incoming mail.
14901 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
14902 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
14903 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
14904 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
14905 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
14906 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
14909 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
14910 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
14911 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
14912 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
14915 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
14916 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
14920 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
14923 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
14925 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
14929 Get the actual mail source from the @code{mail-source} group parameter,
14930 @xref{Group Parameters}.
14935 @item Common Keywords
14936 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
14942 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
14943 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
14948 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
14953 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
14954 useful when you use local mail and news.
14959 @subsubsection Function Interface
14961 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
14962 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
14963 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
14964 consider the following mail-source setting:
14967 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
14968 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
14971 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
14972 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
14973 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
14974 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
14975 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
14977 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
14980 @node Mail Source Customization
14981 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
14983 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
14984 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
14988 @item mail-source-crash-box
14989 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
14990 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
14991 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
14994 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
14995 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
14996 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
14997 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
14998 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
14999 (the deletion will only happen when receiving new mail). You may also
15000 set @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
15001 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
15002 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{10} in alpha Gnusae
15003 and @code{2} in released Gnusae. @xref{Gnus Development}.
15005 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15006 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
15007 If non-@code{nil}, ask for confirmation before deleting old incoming
15008 files. This variable only applies when
15009 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
15011 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
15012 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
15013 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
15015 @item mail-source-directory
15016 @vindex mail-source-directory
15017 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
15018 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
15019 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
15020 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
15022 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15023 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
15024 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
15025 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
15026 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
15027 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a
15030 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
15031 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
15032 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
15034 @item mail-source-movemail-program
15035 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
15036 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
15037 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
15042 @node Fetching Mail
15043 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
15045 @vindex mail-sources
15046 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
15047 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
15048 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
15050 If this variable is @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to
15051 fetch mail by themselves.
15053 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
15054 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
15059 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15060 :password "secret")))
15063 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
15067 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
15068 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
15071 :password "secret")))
15075 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
15076 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
15077 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
15078 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
15079 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
15080 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
15084 @node Mail Back End Variables
15085 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
15087 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
15091 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15092 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
15093 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
15094 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
15096 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
15097 @item nnmail-split-hook
15098 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
15099 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
15100 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
15101 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
15102 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
15103 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
15104 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
15105 in the buffer will show up in any files.
15106 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
15109 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15110 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15111 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15112 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15113 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
15114 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
15115 starting to handle the new mail) and
15116 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
15117 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
15118 default file modes the new mail files get:
15121 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
15122 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
15124 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
15125 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
15128 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
15129 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
15130 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
15131 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
15132 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
15133 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
15134 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
15136 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
15137 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
15138 @findex delete-file
15139 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
15141 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15142 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15143 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
15144 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
15145 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
15147 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15148 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
15149 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
15150 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
15151 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
15153 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
15154 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
15155 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
15160 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
15161 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
15162 @cindex mail splitting
15163 @cindex fancy mail splitting
15165 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
15166 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
15167 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
15168 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
15169 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
15170 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
15172 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
15175 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
15176 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
15177 ;; @r{from real errors.}
15178 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
15180 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
15181 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
15182 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
15183 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
15184 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
15185 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
15186 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
15187 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
15188 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
15189 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
15190 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
15191 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
15192 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
15193 (any "mypackage@@somewhere" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
15194 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
15195 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
15196 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
15200 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
15201 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
15202 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
15207 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
15208 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
15210 @c Don't fold this line.
15211 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split} [@var{invert-partial}])
15212 The split can be a list containing at least three elements. If the
15213 first element @var{field} (a regexp matching a header) contains
15214 @var{value} (also a regexp) then store the message as specified by
15217 If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp) matches some string after
15218 @var{field} and before the end of the matched @var{value}, the
15219 @var{split} is ignored. If none of the @var{restrict} clauses match,
15220 @var{split} is processed.
15222 The last element @var{invert-partial} is optional. If it is
15223 non-@code{nil}, the match-partial-words behavior controlled by the
15224 variable @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} (see below) is
15225 be inverted. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15227 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
15228 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
15229 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
15230 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
15231 stored in one or more groups.
15233 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
15234 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
15235 process all @var{split}s in the list.
15238 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
15239 this message. Use with extreme caution.
15241 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
15242 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
15243 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
15244 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
15247 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
15248 body of the messages:
15251 (defun split-on-body ()
15255 (goto-char (point-min))
15256 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
15260 The buffer is narrowed to the header of the message in question when
15261 @var{function} is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called
15262 after @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
15263 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
15264 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
15265 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
15266 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
15268 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
15269 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
15270 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
15271 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
15272 should return a split.
15275 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
15279 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
15281 Normally, @var{value} in these splits must match a complete @emph{word}
15282 according to the fundamental mode syntax table. In other words, all
15283 @var{value}'s will be implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers,
15284 which are word delimiters. Therefore, if you use the following split,
15288 (any "joe" "joemail")
15292 messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will normally not be filed
15293 in @samp{joemail}. If you want to alter this behavior, you can use any
15294 of the following three ways:
15298 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
15299 You can set the @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} variable
15300 to non-@code{nil} in order to ignore word boundaries and instead the
15301 match becomes more like a grep. This variable controls whether partial
15302 words are matched during fancy splitting. The default value is
15305 Note that it influences all @var{value}'s in your split rules.
15308 @var{value} beginning with @code{.*} ignores word boundaries in front of
15309 a word. Similarly, if @var{value} ends with @code{.*}, word boundaries
15310 in the rear of a word will be ignored. For example, the @var{value}
15311 @code{"@@example\\.com"} does not match @samp{foo@@example.com} but
15312 @code{".*@@example\\.com"} does.
15315 You can set the @var{invert-partial} flag in your split rules of the
15316 @samp{(@var{field} @var{value} @dots{})} types, aforementioned in this
15317 section. If the flag is set, word boundaries on both sides of a word
15318 are ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15319 @code{nil}. Contrarily, if the flag is set, word boundaries are not
15320 ignored even if @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} is
15321 non-@code{nil}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
15324 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
15325 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
15326 they are expanded as specified by the variable
15327 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
15328 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
15329 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
15330 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
15334 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
15336 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
15337 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
15339 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
15342 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
15343 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
15344 when all this splitting is performed.
15346 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
15347 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
15348 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
15351 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
15354 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
15355 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
15357 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
15358 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
15359 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
15360 groupings 1 through 9.
15362 @vindex nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded
15363 Where @code{nnmail-split-lowercase-expanded} controls whether the
15364 lowercase of the matched string should be used for the substitution.
15365 Setting it as non-@code{nil} is useful to avoid the creation of multiple
15366 groups when users send to an address using different case
15367 (i.e. mailing-list@@domain vs Mailing-List@@Domain). The default value
15370 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
15371 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
15372 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
15373 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
15374 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
15375 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
15376 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
15377 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
15378 it once per thread.
15380 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
15381 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
15382 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
15383 using the colon feature, like so:
15385 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
15386 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
15388 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
15389 ;; @r{other splits go here}
15393 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
15394 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
15395 in the file specified by the variable
15396 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
15397 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
15398 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
15399 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
15400 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
15401 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
15402 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
15403 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
15404 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
15405 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
15406 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
15407 300 kBytes in size.)
15408 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
15409 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
15410 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
15411 messages goes into the new group.
15413 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
15414 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
15415 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
15416 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
15417 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
15418 ``outgoing'' group.
15421 @node Group Mail Splitting
15422 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
15423 @cindex mail splitting
15424 @cindex group mail splitting
15426 @findex gnus-group-split
15427 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
15428 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
15429 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
15430 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
15431 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
15432 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
15433 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
15434 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
15436 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
15437 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
15438 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
15439 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
15441 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
15442 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
15443 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
15444 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
15445 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
15446 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
15447 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
15449 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
15450 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
15451 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
15452 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
15453 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
15454 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
15455 @code{gnus-group-split}.
15457 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
15458 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
15459 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
15460 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
15461 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
15462 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
15463 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
15464 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
15465 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
15466 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
15467 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
15468 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
15469 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
15471 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
15476 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
15477 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
15479 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
15480 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
15481 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
15482 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
15484 ((split-spec . catch-all))
15487 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
15488 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
15489 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
15492 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
15493 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
15494 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
15498 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
15499 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
15500 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15504 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
15507 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
15508 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
15509 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
15510 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
15511 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
15512 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
15513 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
15514 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
15515 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
15517 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
15518 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
15519 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
15520 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
15521 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
15522 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
15523 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
15524 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
15525 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
15527 @findex gnus-group-split-update
15528 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
15529 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
15530 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
15531 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
15532 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
15535 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
15538 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
15539 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
15540 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
15541 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
15542 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
15545 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
15546 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
15547 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
15548 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
15550 @node Incorporating Old Mail
15551 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
15552 @cindex incorporating old mail
15553 @cindex import old mail
15555 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
15556 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
15557 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
15560 Doing so can be quite easy.
15562 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
15563 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
15564 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
15565 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
15566 your @code{nnml} groups.
15572 Go to the group buffer.
15575 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
15576 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15579 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
15582 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
15583 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
15586 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
15587 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
15590 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
15591 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
15592 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
15593 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
15594 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
15596 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
15597 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
15598 using the new mail back end.
15601 @node Expiring Mail
15602 @subsection Expiring Mail
15603 @cindex article expiry
15604 @cindex expiring mail
15606 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
15607 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
15608 different approach to mail reading.
15610 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
15611 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
15612 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
15613 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
15614 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
15615 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
15618 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
15619 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
15620 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
15621 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
15622 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
15623 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
15624 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
15625 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
15626 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
15628 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
15629 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
15630 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
15631 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
15632 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
15633 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
15634 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
15637 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
15638 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
15639 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
15640 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
15641 into its own group.)
15643 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
15644 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
15645 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
15646 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
15647 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
15648 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
15649 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
15650 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
15653 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15654 Groups that match the regular expression
15655 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
15656 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
15657 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
15659 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
15660 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
15661 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
15662 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
15663 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15665 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
15667 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
15668 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
15669 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
15672 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
15673 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
15674 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
15675 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
15676 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
15678 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
15679 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
15682 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
15683 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
15686 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
15687 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
15689 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
15690 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
15691 don't really mix very well.
15693 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
15694 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
15695 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
15696 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
15699 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
15700 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
15701 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
15702 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
15705 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15707 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
15709 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
15711 ((string= group "mail.junk")
15713 ((string= group "important")
15719 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
15720 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
15722 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
15723 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
15724 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
15727 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
15728 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
15730 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
15731 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
15732 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
15733 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
15734 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
15735 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
15736 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
15737 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
15738 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
15739 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
15740 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
15741 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
15742 name or @code{delete}.
15744 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
15746 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
15749 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15750 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15751 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
15752 expire mail to groups according to the variable
15753 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
15756 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
15757 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
15758 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
15759 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
15760 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
15763 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
15764 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
15765 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
15766 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
15767 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
15768 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
15770 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
15771 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
15772 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
15773 easier for procmail users.
15775 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
15776 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
15777 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
15778 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
15779 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
15780 caution. Even more dangerous is the
15781 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
15782 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
15783 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
15784 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
15785 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
15786 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
15787 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
15790 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
15792 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
15793 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
15794 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
15795 auto-expire turned on.
15797 @vindex gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable
15798 The expirable marks of articles will be removed when copying or moving
15799 them to a group in which auto-expire is not turned on. This is for
15800 preventing articles from being expired unintentionally. On the other
15801 hand, to a group that has turned auto-expire on, the expirable marks of
15802 articles that are copied or moved will not be changed by default. I.e.,
15803 when copying or moving to such a group, articles that were expirable
15804 will be left expirable and ones that were not expirable will not be
15805 marked as expirable. So, even though in auto-expire groups, some
15806 articles will never get expired (unless you read them again). If you
15807 don't side with that behavior that unexpirable articles may be mixed
15808 into auto-expire groups, you can set
15809 @code{gnus-mark-copied-or-moved-articles-as-expirable} to a
15810 non-@code{nil} value. In that case, articles that have been read will
15811 be marked as expirable automatically when being copied or moved to a
15812 group that has auto-expire turned on. The default value is @code{nil}.
15816 @subsection Washing Mail
15817 @cindex mail washing
15818 @cindex list server brain damage
15819 @cindex incoming mail treatment
15821 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
15822 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
15823 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
15824 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
15825 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
15826 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
15828 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
15829 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
15830 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
15833 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
15834 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
15835 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
15836 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
15839 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15840 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
15841 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
15842 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
15843 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
15846 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15847 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
15848 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
15849 Emacs running on MS machines.
15853 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15854 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
15855 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
15856 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
15859 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15860 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
15861 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
15862 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
15864 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
15865 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
15866 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
15867 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
15868 into a feature by documenting it.)
15870 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15871 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
15872 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
15873 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
15874 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
15875 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
15876 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
15879 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
15880 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
15883 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
15884 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
15887 This can also be done non-destructively with
15888 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
15890 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
15891 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
15892 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
15894 @item nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15895 @findex nnmail-ignore-broken-references
15896 @c @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
15899 Some mail user agents (e.g. Eudora and Pegasus) produce broken
15900 @code{References} headers, but correct @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This
15901 function will get rid of the @code{References} header if the headers
15902 contain a line matching the regular expression
15903 @code{nnmail-broken-references-mailers}.
15907 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15908 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
15909 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
15913 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
15914 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
15915 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
15922 @subsection Duplicates
15924 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
15925 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
15926 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
15927 @cindex duplicate mails
15928 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
15929 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
15930 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
15931 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
15932 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
15933 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
15934 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
15935 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
15936 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
15937 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
15938 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
15939 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
15940 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
15942 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
15943 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
15944 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
15945 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
15947 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
15950 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
15951 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
15955 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
15956 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
15957 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
15958 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
15959 (any mail "mail.misc")
15960 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15966 (setq nnmail-split-methods
15967 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
15968 ;; @r{Other rules.}
15972 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
15973 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
15974 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
15975 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
15976 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
15979 @node Not Reading Mail
15980 @subsection Not Reading Mail
15982 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
15983 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
15984 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
15986 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
15987 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
15988 mail, which should help.
15990 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
15991 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
15992 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
15993 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15994 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15995 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
15996 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old (pre-Emacs
15997 23) Rmail file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
15998 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
15999 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
16000 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
16002 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
16003 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
16007 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
16008 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
16010 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
16011 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
16012 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
16014 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
16015 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
16016 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
16020 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
16021 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
16022 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
16023 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
16024 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
16025 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
16026 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
16031 @node Unix Mail Box
16032 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
16034 @cindex unix mail box
16036 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16037 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16038 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
16039 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
16040 which group it belongs in.
16042 Virtual server settings:
16045 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
16046 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
16047 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
16050 @item nnmbox-active-file
16051 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
16052 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
16053 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
16055 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
16056 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
16057 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
16058 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
16063 @subsubsection Babyl
16066 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16067 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16068 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box to store mail.
16069 @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail article to say which
16070 group it belongs in.
16072 Virtual server settings:
16075 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
16076 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
16077 The name of the Babyl file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
16079 @item nnbabyl-active-file
16080 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
16081 The name of the active file for the Babyl file. The default is
16082 @file{~/.rmail-active}
16084 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16085 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
16086 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
16092 @subsubsection Mail Spool
16094 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
16096 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
16097 format. It should be used with some caution.
16099 @vindex nnml-directory
16100 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
16101 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
16102 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
16103 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
16105 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
16108 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
16109 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
16110 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
16111 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
16112 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
16113 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
16114 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
16115 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
16117 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
16118 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
16119 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
16120 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
16122 @cindex self contained nnml servers
16124 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
16125 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16126 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16127 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
16128 for a group are usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
16129 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
16130 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
16131 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
16134 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
16135 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
16136 them next time it starts.
16138 Virtual server settings:
16141 @item nnml-directory
16142 @vindex nnml-directory
16143 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
16144 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
16147 @item nnml-active-file
16148 @vindex nnml-active-file
16149 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
16150 @file{~/Mail/active}.
16152 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
16153 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
16154 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16155 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
16157 @item nnml-get-new-mail
16158 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
16159 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
16162 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
16163 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
16164 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16165 default is @code{nil}.
16167 @item nnml-nov-file-name
16168 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
16169 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
16171 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16172 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
16173 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
16175 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
16176 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
16177 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16178 default is @code{nil}.
16180 @item nnml-marks-file-name
16181 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
16182 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
16184 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
16185 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
16186 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
16187 files. This requires @code{auto-compression-mode} to be enabled
16188 (@pxref{Compressed Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
16189 If the value of @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is a string, it is used
16190 as the file extension specifying the compression program. You can set it
16191 to @samp{.bz2} if your Emacs supports it. A value of @code{t} is
16192 equivalent to @samp{.gz}.
16194 @item nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16195 @vindex nnml-compressed-files-size-threshold
16196 Default size threshold for compressed message files. Message files with
16197 bodies larger than that many characters will be automatically compressed
16198 if @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil}.
16202 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
16203 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
16204 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
16205 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
16206 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
16207 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
16208 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
16213 @subsubsection MH Spool
16215 @cindex mh-e mail spool
16217 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
16218 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
16219 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
16220 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
16223 Virtual server settings:
16226 @item nnmh-directory
16227 @vindex nnmh-directory
16228 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
16229 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
16232 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
16233 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
16234 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
16238 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
16239 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
16240 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
16241 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
16242 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
16243 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
16244 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
16249 @subsubsection Maildir
16253 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
16254 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
16255 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
16256 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
16257 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
16260 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
16261 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
16262 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
16263 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
16264 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
16265 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
16266 that appear as group in Gnus.
16268 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
16269 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
16270 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
16272 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
16273 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
16274 another, and you will keep your marks.
16276 Virtual server settings:
16280 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
16281 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
16282 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
16283 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
16284 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
16285 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
16286 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
16287 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
16288 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
16289 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
16291 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
16292 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
16293 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
16294 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
16295 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
16296 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
16297 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
16298 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
16299 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
16300 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
16303 @item target-prefix
16304 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
16305 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
16306 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
16309 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
16310 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
16311 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
16312 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
16313 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
16314 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
16315 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
16316 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
16317 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
16319 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
16320 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
16321 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
16322 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
16323 symlinks pointing to them will be).
16325 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
16326 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
16327 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
16328 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
16329 @code{force} argument.
16331 @item directory-files
16332 This should be a function with the same interface as
16333 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
16334 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
16335 parameter is optional; the default is
16336 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
16337 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
16338 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
16339 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
16340 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
16341 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
16344 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
16345 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
16346 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
16347 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
16348 value is @code{nil}.
16350 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
16351 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
16352 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
16353 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
16354 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
16357 @subsubsection Group parameters
16359 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
16360 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
16361 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
16362 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
16363 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
16364 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
16367 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
16368 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
16369 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
16370 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
16371 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
16372 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
16373 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
16374 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
16375 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
16379 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
16380 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
16381 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
16382 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
16383 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (the
16384 @code{expiry-wait} group parameter overrides @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}
16385 and makes @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} ineffective). If you
16386 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
16387 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
16388 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
16389 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
16390 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
16391 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
16394 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
16396 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
16398 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
16399 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
16400 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
16401 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
16402 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
16403 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
16404 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
16405 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
16406 article. So that form can refer to
16407 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
16408 article. @emph{Even if this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir}
16409 does not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
16410 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
16413 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
16414 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
16415 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
16416 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
16417 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
16418 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
16419 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
16420 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
16421 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
16422 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
16423 contain extra copies of the articles.
16425 @item directory-files
16426 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
16427 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
16428 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
16429 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
16431 @item distrust-Lines:
16432 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
16433 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
16434 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
16437 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
16438 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16439 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
16440 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
16441 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
16442 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16445 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
16446 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
16447 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
16448 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
16449 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
16450 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
16451 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
16453 @item nov-cache-size
16454 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
16455 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
16456 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
16457 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
16458 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
16459 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
16460 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
16461 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
16462 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
16463 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
16464 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
16467 @subsubsection Article identification
16468 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
16469 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
16470 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
16471 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
16472 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
16473 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
16474 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
16475 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
16476 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
16477 request the article in the summary buffer.
16479 @subsubsection NOV data
16480 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
16481 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
16482 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
16483 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
16484 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
16485 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
16486 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
16487 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
16488 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
16489 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
16490 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
16492 @subsubsection Article marks
16493 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
16494 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
16495 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16496 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
16497 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
16498 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
16499 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
16500 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
16502 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
16503 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
16504 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
16505 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
16506 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
16507 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
16508 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
16509 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
16510 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
16514 @subsubsection Mail Folders
16516 @cindex mbox folders
16517 @cindex mail folders
16519 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
16520 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
16521 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
16522 numbers and arrival dates.
16524 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
16526 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
16527 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
16528 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
16529 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
16530 Marks for a group are usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
16531 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
16532 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
16533 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
16534 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
16535 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
16537 Virtual server settings:
16540 @item nnfolder-directory
16541 @vindex nnfolder-directory
16542 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
16543 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
16544 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
16546 @item nnfolder-active-file
16547 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
16548 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
16550 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16551 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
16552 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
16553 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
16555 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
16556 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
16557 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
16558 default is @code{t}
16560 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16561 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
16562 @cindex backup files
16563 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
16564 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
16565 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
16566 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
16569 (defun turn-off-backup ()
16570 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
16572 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
16575 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16576 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
16577 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
16578 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
16579 extract some information from it before removing it.
16581 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16582 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
16583 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
16584 default is @code{nil}.
16586 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16587 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
16588 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
16590 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
16591 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
16592 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
16593 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16595 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16596 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
16597 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
16598 default is @code{nil}.
16600 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16601 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
16602 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
16604 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
16605 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
16606 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
16607 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
16612 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
16613 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
16614 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
16615 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
16616 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
16617 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
16620 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
16621 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
16623 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
16624 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
16625 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
16626 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
16627 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
16629 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
16630 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
16631 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
16632 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
16633 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
16634 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
16635 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
16636 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
16639 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
16640 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
16641 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
16642 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
16647 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
16648 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
16649 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
16650 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
16651 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
16652 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
16653 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
16654 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
16655 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
16656 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
16657 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
16658 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
16659 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
16664 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
16665 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
16666 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
16667 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
16668 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
16669 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
16670 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
16671 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
16672 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
16673 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
16674 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
16675 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
16676 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
16677 course, and is still maintained within Emacs. Since Emacs 23, it
16678 uses standard mbox format rather than Babyl.
16680 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
16681 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
16686 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
16687 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
16688 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
16689 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
16690 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
16691 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
16692 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
16693 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
16694 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
16695 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
16696 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
16697 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
16698 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
16699 provided by the active file and overviews.
16701 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
16702 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
16703 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
16704 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
16705 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
16708 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
16709 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
16714 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
16715 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
16716 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
16717 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
16718 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
16719 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
16720 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
16724 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
16725 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
16726 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
16727 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
16728 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
16729 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
16730 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
16731 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
16732 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
16734 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
16735 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
16736 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
16737 friendly mail back end all over.
16741 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
16742 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
16745 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
16746 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
16747 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
16748 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
16749 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}.
16750 (Use @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this
16751 slows you down or takes up very much space, a non-block-structured
16754 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
16755 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
16756 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
16757 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
16758 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
16759 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
16760 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
16761 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
16762 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
16763 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
16764 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
16766 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
16767 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
16768 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
16769 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
16770 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
16773 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
16774 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
16775 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
16776 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
16777 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
16778 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
16779 removed in the future.
16781 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
16782 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
16783 on your file system.
16785 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
16786 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
16791 @node Browsing the Web
16792 @section Browsing the Web
16794 @cindex browsing the web
16798 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
16799 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
16800 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
16801 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
16802 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
16803 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
16804 even know what a news group is.
16806 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
16807 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
16808 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
16809 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
16810 you mad in the end.
16812 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
16815 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
16816 interfaces to these sources.
16820 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
16821 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
16822 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
16825 All the web sources require Emacs/W3 and the url library or those
16826 alternatives to work.
16828 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
16829 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
16830 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
16831 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
16832 though, you should be ok.
16834 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
16835 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
16836 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
16837 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
16838 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
16840 @node Archiving Mail
16841 @subsection Archiving Mail
16842 @cindex archiving mail
16843 @cindex backup of mail
16845 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
16846 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
16847 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
16848 marks is fairly simple.
16850 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
16851 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
16854 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
16855 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
16856 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
16857 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
16858 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
16859 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
16860 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
16861 before you restore the data.
16863 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
16864 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
16865 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
16866 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
16867 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
16868 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
16869 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
16870 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
16871 is unnecessary in that case.
16874 @subsection Web Searches
16879 @cindex Usenet searches
16880 @cindex searching the Usenet
16882 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
16883 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
16884 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
16885 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
16886 searches without having to use a browser.
16888 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
16889 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
16890 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
16891 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
16892 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
16894 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
16895 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
16896 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
16897 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
16898 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
16899 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
16900 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
16901 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
16902 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
16903 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
16906 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
16907 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
16908 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
16909 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
16910 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
16911 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
16913 You must have the @code{url} and @code{W3} package or those alternatives
16914 (try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{mm-url} variable group)
16915 installed to be able to use @code{nnweb}.
16917 Virtual server variables:
16922 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
16923 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
16924 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
16927 @vindex nnweb-search
16928 The search string to feed to the search engine.
16930 @item nnweb-max-hits
16931 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
16932 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
16935 @item nnweb-type-definition
16936 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
16937 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
16938 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
16943 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
16947 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
16950 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
16953 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
16957 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
16968 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
16969 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
16970 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
16971 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
16972 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
16974 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
16975 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
16977 Note: you had better use Emacs which supports the @code{utf-8} coding
16978 system because @acronym{RSS} uses UTF-8 for encoding non-@acronym{ASCII}
16979 text by default. It is also used by default for non-@acronym{ASCII}
16982 @kindex G R (Group)
16983 Use @kbd{G R} from the group buffer to subscribe to a feed---you will be
16984 prompted for the location, the title and the description of the feed.
16985 The title, which allows any characters, will be used for the group name
16986 and the name of the group data file. The description can be omitted.
16988 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
16989 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET RET y}, then
16990 subscribe to groups.
16992 The @code{nnrss} back end saves the group data file in
16993 @code{nnrss-directory} (see below) for each @code{nnrss} group. File
16994 names containing non-@acronym{ASCII} characters will be encoded by the
16995 coding system specified with the @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}
16996 variable or other. Also @xref{Non-ASCII Group Names}, for more
16999 The @code{nnrss} back end generates @samp{multipart/alternative}
17000 @acronym{MIME} articles in which each contains a @samp{text/plain} part
17001 and a @samp{text/html} part.
17004 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
17005 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
17008 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
17009 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
17013 @defun nnrss-opml-export
17014 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
17015 @acronym{OPML} format.
17018 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
17021 @item nnrss-directory
17022 @vindex nnrss-directory
17023 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
17024 @file{~/News/rss/}.
17026 @item nnrss-file-coding-system
17027 @vindex nnrss-file-coding-system
17028 The coding system used when reading and writing the @code{nnrss} groups
17029 data files. The default is the value of
17030 @code{mm-universal-coding-system} (which defaults to @code{emacs-mule}
17031 in Emacs or @code{escape-quoted} in XEmacs).
17033 @item nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17034 @vindex nnrss-ignore-article-fields
17035 Some feeds update constantly article fields during their publications,
17036 e.g. to indicate the number of comments. However, if there is
17037 a difference between the local article and the distant one, the latter
17038 is considered to be new. To avoid this and discard some fields, set this
17039 variable to the list of fields to be ignored. The default is
17040 @code{'(slash:comments)}.
17042 @item nnrss-use-local
17043 @vindex nnrss-use-local
17044 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
17045 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
17046 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
17047 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
17048 download script using @command{wget}.
17051 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
17052 the summary buffer.
17055 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
17056 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
17058 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
17060 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
17061 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
17064 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
17068 (require 'browse-url)
17070 (defun browse-nnrss-url (arg)
17072 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
17075 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
17076 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
17079 (browse-url (cdr url))
17080 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
17081 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
17083 (eval-after-load "gnus"
17084 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
17085 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
17086 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
17089 Even if you have added @samp{text/html} to the
17090 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} variable (@pxref{Display
17091 Customization, ,Display Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME
17092 Manual}) since you don't want to see @acronym{HTML} parts, it might be
17093 more useful especially in @code{nnrss} groups to display
17094 @samp{text/html} parts. Here's an example of setting
17095 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} as a group parameter (@pxref{Group
17096 Parameters}) in order to display @samp{text/html} parts only in
17097 @code{nnrss} groups:
17100 ;; @r{Set the default value of @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives}.}
17101 (eval-after-load "gnus-sum"
17103 'gnus-newsgroup-variables
17104 '(mm-discouraged-alternatives
17105 . '("text/html" "image/.*"))))
17107 ;; @r{Display @samp{text/html} parts in @code{nnrss} groups.}
17110 '("\\`nnrss:" (mm-discouraged-alternatives nil)))
17114 @node Customizing W3
17115 @subsection Customizing W3
17121 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/W3 (or those
17122 alternatives) to display web pages. Emacs/W3 is documented in its own
17123 manual, but there are some things that may be more relevant for Gnus
17126 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/W3 follow links
17127 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
17128 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
17131 (eval-after-load "w3"
17133 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
17134 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
17135 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
17136 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
17138 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
17141 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in W3-rendered
17142 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
17146 @node Other Sources
17147 @section Other Sources
17149 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
17150 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
17154 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
17155 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
17156 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
17157 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
17158 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
17162 @node Directory Groups
17163 @subsection Directory Groups
17165 @cindex directory groups
17167 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
17168 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
17171 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
17172 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
17173 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
17174 back end to read directories. Big deal.
17176 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
17177 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
17178 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
17179 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
17180 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
17182 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
17184 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
17185 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
17186 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
17187 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
17190 @node Anything Groups
17191 @subsection Anything Groups
17194 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
17195 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
17196 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
17199 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
17200 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
17201 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
17202 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
17203 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
17204 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
17205 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
17206 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
17207 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
17208 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
17211 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
17212 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
17213 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
17214 in the article buffer, just as usual.
17216 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
17217 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
17218 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
17219 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
17221 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
17222 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
17223 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
17224 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
17225 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
17226 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
17227 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
17228 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
17233 @item nneething-map-file-directory
17234 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
17235 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
17236 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
17238 @item nneething-exclude-files
17239 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
17240 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
17241 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
17243 @item nneething-include-files
17244 @vindex nneething-include-files
17245 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
17246 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
17248 @item nneething-map-file
17249 @vindex nneething-map-file
17250 Name of the map files.
17254 @node Document Groups
17255 @subsection Document Groups
17257 @cindex documentation group
17260 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
17261 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
17271 The standard Unix mbox file.
17273 @cindex MMDF mail box
17275 The MMDF mail box format.
17278 Several news articles appended into a file.
17280 @cindex rnews batch files
17282 The rnews batch transport format.
17285 Netscape mail boxes.
17288 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
17290 @item standard-digest
17291 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
17294 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
17296 @item lanl-gov-announce
17297 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
17299 @cindex git commit messages
17301 @code{git} commit messages.
17303 @cindex forwarded messages
17304 @item rfc822-forward
17305 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
17308 The Outlook mail box.
17311 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
17314 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
17317 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
17320 An RFC934-forwarded message.
17326 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
17329 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
17335 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
17336 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
17337 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
17340 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
17341 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
17342 group. And that's it.
17344 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
17345 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
17346 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
17347 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
17348 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
17349 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
17350 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
17351 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
17352 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
17353 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
17355 Virtual server variables:
17358 @item nndoc-article-type
17359 @vindex nndoc-article-type
17360 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
17361 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
17362 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
17363 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
17364 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
17366 @item nndoc-post-type
17367 @vindex nndoc-post-type
17368 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
17369 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
17374 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
17378 @node Document Server Internals
17379 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
17381 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
17382 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
17383 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
17384 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
17386 First, here's an example document type definition:
17390 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
17391 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
17394 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
17395 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
17396 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
17397 types can be defined with very few settings:
17400 @item first-article
17401 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
17402 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
17405 @item article-begin
17406 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
17407 says what the beginning of each article looks like. To do more
17408 complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you can
17409 use @code{article-begin-function} instead of this.
17411 @item article-begin-function
17412 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the beginning
17413 of each article. This setting overrides @code{article-begin}.
17416 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
17417 article. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a
17418 simple regexp, you can use @code{head-begin-function} instead of this.
17420 @item head-begin-function
17421 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
17422 the article. This setting overrides @code{head-begin}.
17425 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
17426 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
17429 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
17430 to @samp{^\n}. To do more complicated things that cannot be dealt with
17431 a simple regexp, you can use @code{body-begin-function} instead of this.
17433 @item body-begin-function
17434 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
17435 of the article. This setting overrides @code{body-begin}.
17438 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article. To do
17439 more complicated things that cannot be dealt with a simple regexp, you
17440 can use @code{body-end-function} instead of this.
17442 @item body-end-function
17443 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
17444 the article. This setting overrides @code{body-end}.
17447 If present, this should match the beginning of the file. All text
17448 before this regexp will be totally ignored.
17451 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17452 regexp will be totally ignored.
17456 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17457 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17458 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17459 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17460 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17463 @item prepare-body-function
17464 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17465 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17466 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17468 @item article-transform-function
17469 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17470 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17471 body of the article.
17473 @item generate-head-function
17474 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17475 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17476 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17477 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17479 @item generate-article-function
17480 If present, this function is called to generate an entire article that
17481 Gnus can understand. It is called with the article number as a
17482 parameter when requesting all articles.
17484 @item dissection-function
17485 If present, this function is called to dissect a document by itself,
17486 overriding @code{first-article}, @code{article-begin},
17487 @code{article-begin-function}, @code{head-begin},
17488 @code{head-begin-function}, @code{head-end}, @code{body-begin},
17489 @code{body-begin-function}, @code{body-end}, @code{body-end-function},
17490 @code{file-begin}, and @code{file-end}.
17494 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17499 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17500 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17501 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17502 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17503 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17504 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17505 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17506 (subtype digest guess))
17509 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17510 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17511 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17512 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17513 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17515 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17516 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17517 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17518 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17519 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17520 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17521 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17522 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17523 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17524 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17525 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17526 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17529 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17530 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17531 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17534 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17535 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17536 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17538 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17544 @item nngateway-address
17545 @vindex nngateway-address
17546 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17548 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17549 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17550 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17551 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17552 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17553 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17554 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17557 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17558 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17559 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17562 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17565 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17568 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17571 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17573 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17576 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17577 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17578 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17580 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17582 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17583 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17584 @code{nngateway-address}.
17592 (setq gnus-post-method
17594 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17595 (nngateway-header-transformation
17596 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17599 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17602 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17606 @node The Empty Backend
17607 @subsection The Empty Backend
17610 @code{nnnil} is a backend that can be used as a placeholder if you
17611 have to specify a backend somewhere, but don't really want to. The
17612 classical example is if you don't want to have a primary select
17613 methods, but want to only use secondary ones:
17616 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnnil ""))
17617 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
17623 @node Combined Groups
17624 @section Combined Groups
17626 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17630 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17634 @node Virtual Groups
17635 @subsection Virtual Groups
17637 @cindex virtual groups
17638 @cindex merging groups
17640 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17643 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17644 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17645 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17647 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17648 regexp to match component groups.
17650 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17651 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17652 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17653 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17654 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17655 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17656 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17657 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17659 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17660 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17663 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17666 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17667 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17669 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17670 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17671 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17672 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17675 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17678 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17679 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17680 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17682 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17683 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17684 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17685 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17686 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17688 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17689 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17690 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17692 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17693 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} variable is non-@code{nil} (which
17694 is the default), @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread
17695 articles when entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil}
17696 and you read articles in a component group after the virtual group has
17697 been activated, the read articles from the component group will show up
17698 when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this effect if you
17699 have two virtual groups that have a component group in common. If
17700 that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}. Or you can
17701 just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before you enter
17702 it---it'll have much the same effect.
17704 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17705 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17706 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17707 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17708 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17709 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17710 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17712 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17713 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17715 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17716 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17720 @node Email Based Diary
17721 @section Email Based Diary
17723 @cindex email based diary
17726 This section describes a special mail back end called @code{nndiary},
17727 and its companion library @code{gnus-diary}. It is ``special'' in the
17728 sense that it is not meant to be one of the standard alternatives for
17729 reading mail with Gnus. See @ref{Choosing a Mail Back End} for that.
17730 Instead, it is used to treat @emph{some} of your mails in a special way,
17731 namely, as event reminders.
17733 Here is a typical scenario:
17737 You've got a date with Andy Mc Dowell or Bruce Willis (select according
17738 to your sexual preference) in one month. You don't want to forget it.
17740 So you send a ``reminder'' message (actually, a diary one) to yourself.
17742 You forget all about it and keep on getting and reading new mail, as usual.
17744 From time to time, as you type `g' in the group buffer and as the date
17745 is getting closer, the message will pop up again to remind you of your
17746 appointment, just as if it were new and unread.
17748 Read your ``new'' messages, this one included, and start dreaming again
17749 of the night you're gonna have.
17751 Once the date is over (you actually fell asleep just after dinner), the
17752 message will be automatically deleted if it is marked as expirable.
17755 The Gnus Diary back end has the ability to handle regular appointments
17756 (that wouldn't ever be deleted) as well as punctual ones, operates as a
17757 real mail back end and is configurable in many ways. All of this is
17758 explained in the sections below.
17761 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
17762 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
17763 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
17767 @node The NNDiary Back End
17768 @subsection The NNDiary Back End
17770 @cindex the nndiary back end
17772 @code{nndiary} is a back end very similar to @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
17773 Spool}). Actually, it could appear as a mix of @code{nnml} and
17774 @code{nndraft}. If you know @code{nnml}, you're already familiar with
17775 the message storing scheme of @code{nndiary}: one file per message, one
17776 directory per group.
17778 Before anything, there is one requirement to be able to run
17779 @code{nndiary} properly: you @emph{must} use the group timestamp feature
17780 of Gnus. This adds a timestamp to each group's parameters. @ref{Group
17781 Timestamp} to see how it's done.
17784 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
17785 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
17786 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
17789 @node Diary Messages
17790 @subsubsection Diary Messages
17791 @cindex nndiary messages
17792 @cindex nndiary mails
17794 @code{nndiary} messages are just normal ones, except for the mandatory
17795 presence of 7 special headers. These headers are of the form
17796 @code{X-Diary-<something>}, @code{<something>} being one of
17797 @code{Minute}, @code{Hour}, @code{Dom}, @code{Month}, @code{Year},
17798 @code{Time-Zone} and @code{Dow}. @code{Dom} means ``Day of Month'', and
17799 @code{dow} means ``Day of Week''. These headers actually behave like
17800 crontab specifications and define the event date(s):
17804 For all headers except the @code{Time-Zone} one, a header value is
17805 either a star (meaning all possible values), or a list of fields
17806 (separated by a comma).
17808 A field is either an integer, or a range.
17810 A range is two integers separated by a dash.
17812 Possible integer values are 0--59 for @code{Minute}, 0--23 for
17813 @code{Hour}, 1--31 for @code{Dom}, 1--12 for @code{Month}, above 1971
17814 for @code{Year} and 0--6 for @code{Dow} (0 meaning Sunday).
17816 As a special case, a star in either @code{Dom} or @code{Dow} doesn't
17817 mean ``all possible values'', but ``use only the other field''. Note
17818 that if both are star'ed, the use of either one gives the same result.
17820 The @code{Time-Zone} header is special in that it can only have one
17821 value (@code{GMT}, for instance). A star doesn't mean ``all possible
17822 values'' (because it makes no sense), but ``the current local time
17823 zone''. Most of the time, you'll be using a star here. However, for a
17824 list of available time zone values, see the variable
17825 @code{nndiary-headers}.
17828 As a concrete example, here are the diary headers to add to your message
17829 for specifying ``Each Monday and each 1st of month, at 12:00, 20:00,
17830 21:00, 22:00, 23:00 and 24:00, from 1999 to 2010'' (I'll let you find
17835 X-Diary-Hour: 12, 20-24
17838 X-Diary-Year: 1999-2010
17840 X-Diary-Time-Zone: *
17843 @node Running NNDiary
17844 @subsubsection Running NNDiary
17845 @cindex running nndiary
17846 @cindex nndiary operation modes
17848 @code{nndiary} has two modes of operation: ``traditional'' (the default)
17849 and ``autonomous''. In traditional mode, @code{nndiary} does not get new
17850 mail by itself. You have to move (@kbd{B m}) or copy (@kbd{B c}) mails
17851 from your primary mail back end to nndiary groups in order to handle them
17852 as diary messages. In autonomous mode, @code{nndiary} retrieves its own
17853 mail and handles it independently from your primary mail back end.
17855 One should note that Gnus is not inherently designed to allow several
17856 ``master'' mail back ends at the same time. However, this does make
17857 sense with @code{nndiary}: you really want to send and receive diary
17858 messages to your diary groups directly. So, @code{nndiary} supports
17859 being sort of a ``second primary mail back end'' (to my knowledge, it is
17860 the only back end offering this feature). However, there is a limitation
17861 (which I hope to fix some day): respooling doesn't work in autonomous
17864 In order to use @code{nndiary} in autonomous mode, you have several
17869 Allow @code{nndiary} to retrieve new mail by itself. Put the following
17870 line in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17873 (setq nndiary-get-new-mail t)
17876 You must arrange for diary messages (those containing @code{X-Diary-*}
17877 headers) to be split in a private folder @emph{before} Gnus treat them.
17878 Again, this is needed because Gnus cannot (yet ?) properly handle
17879 multiple primary mail back ends. Getting those messages from a separate
17880 source will compensate this misfeature to some extent.
17882 As an example, here's my procmailrc entry to store diary files in
17883 @file{~/.nndiary} (the default @code{nndiary} mail source file):
17892 Once this is done, you might want to customize the following two options
17893 that affect the diary mail retrieval and splitting processes:
17895 @defvar nndiary-mail-sources
17896 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17897 @code{mail-sources} variable. It obeys the same syntax, and defaults to
17898 @code{(file :path "~/.nndiary")}.
17901 @defvar nndiary-split-methods
17902 This is the diary-specific replacement for the standard
17903 @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable. It obeys the same syntax.
17906 Finally, you may add a permanent @code{nndiary} virtual server
17907 (something like @code{(nndiary "diary")} should do) to your
17908 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}.
17910 Hopefully, almost everything (see the TODO section in
17911 @file{nndiary.el}) will work as expected when you restart Gnus: in
17912 autonomous mode, typing @kbd{g} and @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer, will
17913 also get your new diary mails and split them according to your
17914 diary-specific rules, @kbd{F} will find your new diary groups etc.
17916 @node Customizing NNDiary
17917 @subsubsection Customizing NNDiary
17918 @cindex customizing nndiary
17919 @cindex nndiary customization
17921 Now that @code{nndiary} is up and running, it's time to customize it.
17922 The custom group is called @code{nndiary} (no, really ?!). You should
17923 browse it to figure out which options you'd like to tweak. The following
17924 two variables are probably the only ones you will want to change:
17926 @defvar nndiary-reminders
17927 This is the list of times when you want to be reminded of your
17928 appointments (e.g. 3 weeks before, then 2 days before, then 1 hour
17929 before and that's it). Remember that ``being reminded'' means that the
17930 diary message will pop up as brand new and unread again when you get new
17934 @defvar nndiary-week-starts-on-monday
17935 Rather self-explanatory. Otherwise, Sunday is assumed (this is the
17940 @node The Gnus Diary Library
17941 @subsection The Gnus Diary Library
17943 @cindex the gnus diary library
17945 Using @code{nndiary} manually (I mean, writing the headers by hand and
17946 so on) would be rather boring. Fortunately, there is a library called
17947 @code{gnus-diary} written on top of @code{nndiary}, that does many
17948 useful things for you.
17950 In order to use it, add the following line to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
17953 (require 'gnus-diary)
17956 Also, you shouldn't use any @code{gnus-user-format-function-[d|D]}
17957 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} provides both of these
17958 (sorry if you used them before).
17962 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
17963 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
17964 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
17965 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
17968 @node Diary Summary Line Format
17969 @subsubsection Diary Summary Line Format
17970 @cindex diary summary buffer line
17971 @cindex diary summary line format
17973 Displaying diary messages in standard summary line format (usually
17974 something like @samp{From Joe: Subject}) is pretty useless. Most of
17975 the time, you're the one who wrote the message, and you mostly want to
17976 see the event's date.
17978 @code{gnus-diary} provides two supplemental user formats to be used in
17979 summary line formats. @code{D} corresponds to a formatted time string
17980 for the next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00''),
17981 while @code{d} corresponds to an approximative remaining time until the
17982 next occurrence of the event (e.g. ``in 6 months, 1 week'').
17984 For example, here's how Joe's birthday is displayed in my
17985 @code{nndiary+diary:birthdays} summary buffer (note that the message is
17986 expirable, but will never be deleted, as it specifies a periodic event):
17989 E Sat, Sep 22 01, 12:00: Joe's birthday (in 6 months, 1 week)
17992 In order to get something like the above, you would normally add the
17993 following line to your diary groups'parameters:
17996 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z %uD: %(%s%) (%ud)\n")
17999 However, @code{gnus-diary} does it automatically (@pxref{Diary Group
18000 Parameters}). You can however customize the provided summary line format
18001 with the following user options:
18003 @defvar gnus-diary-summary-line-format
18004 Defines the summary line format used for diary groups (@pxref{Summary
18005 Buffer Lines}). @code{gnus-diary} uses it to automatically update the
18006 diary groups'parameters.
18009 @defvar gnus-diary-time-format
18010 Defines the format to display dates in diary summary buffers. This is
18011 used by the @code{D} user format. See the docstring for details.
18014 @defvar gnus-diary-delay-format-function
18015 Defines the format function to use for displaying delays (remaining
18016 times) in diary summary buffers. This is used by the @code{d} user
18017 format. There are currently built-in functions for English and French;
18018 you can also define your own. See the docstring for details.
18021 @node Diary Articles Sorting
18022 @subsubsection Diary Articles Sorting
18023 @cindex diary articles sorting
18024 @cindex diary summary lines sorting
18025 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule
18026 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule
18027 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-schedule
18029 @code{gnus-diary} provides new sorting functions (@pxref{Sorting the
18030 Summary Buffer} ) called @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule},
18031 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-schedule} and
18032 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-schedule}. These functions let you organize
18033 your diary summary buffers from the closest event to the farthest one.
18035 @code{gnus-diary} automatically installs
18036 @code{gnus-summary-sort-by-schedule} as a menu item in the summary
18037 buffer's ``sort'' menu, and the two others as the primary (hence
18038 default) sorting functions in the group parameters (@pxref{Diary Group
18041 @node Diary Headers Generation
18042 @subsubsection Diary Headers Generation
18043 @cindex diary headers generation
18044 @findex gnus-diary-check-message
18046 @code{gnus-diary} provides a function called
18047 @code{gnus-diary-check-message} to help you handle the @code{X-Diary-*}
18048 headers. This function ensures that the current message contains all the
18049 required diary headers, and prompts you for values or corrections if
18052 This function is hooked into the @code{nndiary} back end, so that
18053 moving or copying an article to a diary group will trigger it
18054 automatically. It is also bound to @kbd{C-c C-f d} in
18055 @code{message-mode} and @code{article-edit-mode} in order to ease the
18056 process of converting a usual mail to a diary one.
18058 This function takes a prefix argument which will force prompting of
18059 all diary headers, regardless of their presence or validity. That way,
18060 you can very easily reschedule an already valid diary message, for
18063 @node Diary Group Parameters
18064 @subsubsection Diary Group Parameters
18065 @cindex diary group parameters
18067 When you create a new diary group, or visit one, @code{gnus-diary}
18068 automatically checks your group parameters and if needed, sets the
18069 summary line format to the diary-specific value, installs the
18070 diary-specific sorting functions, and also adds the different
18071 @code{X-Diary-*} headers to the group's posting-style. It is then easier
18072 to send a diary message, because if you use @kbd{C-u a} or @kbd{C-u m}
18073 on a diary group to prepare a message, these headers will be inserted
18074 automatically (although not filled with proper values yet).
18076 @node Sending or Not Sending
18077 @subsection Sending or Not Sending
18079 Well, assuming you've read all of the above, here are two final notes on
18080 mail sending with @code{nndiary}:
18084 @code{nndiary} is a @emph{real} mail back end. You really send real diary
18085 messsages for real. This means for instance that you can give
18086 appointments to anybody (provided they use Gnus and @code{nndiary}) by
18087 sending the diary message to them as well.
18089 However, since @code{nndiary} also has a @code{request-post} method, you
18090 can also use @kbd{C-u a} instead of @kbd{C-u m} on a diary group and the
18091 message won't actually be sent; just stored locally in the group. This
18092 comes in very handy for private appointments.
18095 @node Gnus Unplugged
18096 @section Gnus Unplugged
18101 @cindex Gnus unplugged
18103 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
18104 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
18105 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
18106 read news. Believe it or not.
18108 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
18109 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
18110 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
18111 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
18112 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
18114 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
18115 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
18116 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
18117 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
18118 reading news on a machine.
18120 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
18121 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
18122 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
18124 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
18127 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
18128 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
18129 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
18130 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
18131 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
18132 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
18133 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
18134 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
18135 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
18136 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
18137 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
18138 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
18139 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
18140 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
18145 @subsection Agent Basics
18147 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
18149 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
18150 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
18151 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
18152 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
18154 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
18155 connected to the net continuously.
18157 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
18158 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
18160 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
18161 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
18162 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
18163 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
18164 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
18166 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
18167 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
18168 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
18169 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
18170 they're kinda like plugged always).
18172 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
18173 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
18174 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
18177 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
18178 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
18179 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
18180 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
18181 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
18183 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
18188 @findex gnus-unplugged
18189 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
18190 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
18191 already fetched while in this mode.
18194 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
18195 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
18196 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
18197 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
18198 Source Specifiers}).
18201 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
18202 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
18203 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
18204 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
18205 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
18208 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
18209 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
18210 then you read the news offline.
18213 And then you go to step 2.
18216 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
18222 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
18223 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
18224 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
18225 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
18226 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
18227 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
18228 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
18229 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
18232 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
18233 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
18234 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
18235 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
18237 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
18238 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
18239 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
18240 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
18241 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
18242 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
18246 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
18250 @node Agent Categories
18251 @subsection Agent Categories
18253 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
18254 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
18255 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
18256 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
18257 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
18258 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
18259 you're interested in the articles anyway.
18261 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
18262 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
18263 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
18264 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
18265 buffer for creating and managing categories.
18267 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
18268 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
18269 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
18270 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
18271 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
18274 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
18275 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
18276 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
18277 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
18278 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
18279 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
18283 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
18284 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
18285 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
18289 @node Category Syntax
18290 @subsubsection Category Syntax
18292 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
18293 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
18294 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
18297 @cindex Agent Parameters
18300 The list of groups that are in this category.
18302 @item agent-predicate
18303 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
18304 are eligible for downloading; and
18307 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
18308 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
18309 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
18311 @item agent-enable-expiration
18312 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
18313 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
18314 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
18315 only groups that should not be expired.
18317 @item agent-days-until-old
18318 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
18319 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
18321 @item agent-low-score
18322 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
18324 @item agent-high-score
18325 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
18327 @item agent-short-article
18328 an integer that overrides the value of
18329 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
18331 @item agent-long-article
18332 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
18334 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
18335 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
18336 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
18337 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
18338 undownloaded faces.
18341 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
18344 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
18345 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
18346 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
18349 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
18350 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
18351 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
18352 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
18354 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
18355 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
18356 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
18358 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
18359 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
18360 operators sprinkled in between.
18362 Perhaps some examples are in order.
18364 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
18365 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
18371 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
18372 short (for some value of ``short'').
18374 Here's a more complex predicate:
18383 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
18384 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
18387 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
18388 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
18389 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
18391 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
18392 you want to do, you can write your own.
18394 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
18395 bound to the value determined by calling
18396 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
18397 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
18398 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
18399 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
18400 predicate to individual groups.
18404 True if the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
18405 lines; default 100.
18408 True if the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
18409 lines; default 200.
18412 True if the article has a download score less than
18413 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
18416 True if the article has a download score greater than
18417 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
18420 True if the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
18421 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
18422 checksum and sees whether articles match.
18431 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
18432 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
18433 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
18436 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
18437 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
18438 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
18439 something along the lines of the following:
18442 (defun my-article-old-p ()
18443 "Say whether an article is old."
18444 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
18445 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
18448 with the predicate then defined as:
18451 (not my-article-old-p)
18454 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
18455 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
18459 (require 'gnus-agent)
18460 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
18461 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
18462 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
18465 and simply specify your predicate as:
18471 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
18472 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
18473 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
18474 just don't give a damn.
18476 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
18477 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
18478 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
18479 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
18480 parameters like so:
18483 (agent-predicate . short)
18486 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
18487 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
18488 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
18490 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
18493 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
18496 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
18497 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
18498 predicate is assumed to be a list.
18501 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
18502 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
18503 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
18504 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
18505 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
18506 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
18508 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
18509 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
18510 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
18511 if it's to be specific to that group.
18513 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18520 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18521 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18527 Category specification
18531 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18537 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18540 (agent-score ("from"
18541 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18546 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18552 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18553 keywords stated above.
18559 Category specification
18562 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18568 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18572 Group Parameter specification
18575 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18578 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18583 Use @code{normal} score files
18585 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18586 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18587 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18588 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18590 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18591 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18592 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18593 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18597 Category Specification
18604 Group Parameter specification
18607 (agent-score . file)
18612 @node Category Buffer
18613 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18615 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18616 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18617 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18619 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18623 @kindex q (Category)
18624 @findex gnus-category-exit
18625 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18628 @kindex e (Category)
18629 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18630 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18631 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18634 @kindex k (Category)
18635 @findex gnus-category-kill
18636 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18639 @kindex c (Category)
18640 @findex gnus-category-copy
18641 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18644 @kindex a (Category)
18645 @findex gnus-category-add
18646 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18649 @kindex p (Category)
18650 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18651 Edit the predicate of the current category
18652 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18655 @kindex g (Category)
18656 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18657 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18658 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18661 @kindex s (Category)
18662 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18663 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18664 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18667 @kindex l (Category)
18668 @findex gnus-category-list
18669 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18673 @node Category Variables
18674 @subsubsection Category Variables
18677 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18678 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18679 Hook run in category buffers.
18681 @item gnus-category-line-format
18682 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18683 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18684 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18688 The name of the category.
18691 The number of groups in the category.
18694 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18695 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18696 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18698 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18699 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18700 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18702 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18703 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18704 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18706 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18707 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18708 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18711 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18712 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18713 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18716 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18717 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18718 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18719 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18720 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18721 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18722 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18723 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18727 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18728 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18729 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18730 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18731 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18732 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18733 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18738 @node Agent Commands
18739 @subsection Agent Commands
18740 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18741 @kindex J j (Agent)
18743 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18744 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18745 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18749 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18750 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18751 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18757 @node Group Agent Commands
18758 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18762 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18763 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18764 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18765 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18768 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18769 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18770 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18773 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18774 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18775 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18776 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18779 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18780 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18781 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18782 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18785 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18786 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18787 Add the current group to an Agent category
18788 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18789 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18792 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18793 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18794 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18795 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18796 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18799 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18800 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18801 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18807 @node Summary Agent Commands
18808 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18812 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18813 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18814 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18817 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18818 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18819 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18820 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18824 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18825 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18826 Toggle whether to download the article
18827 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18831 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18832 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18833 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18836 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18837 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18838 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18839 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18842 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18843 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series
18844 Download all processable articles in this group.
18845 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-series}).
18848 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18849 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18850 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18851 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18856 @node Server Agent Commands
18857 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18861 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18862 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18863 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18864 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18867 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18868 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18869 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18870 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18875 @node Agent Visuals
18876 @subsection Agent Visuals
18878 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18879 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18880 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18881 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18882 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18883 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18884 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18885 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18886 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18887 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18889 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18890 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18891 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18892 way, ``If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18893 less than satisfying unplugged session''. For this reason, the Agent
18894 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18895 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18896 articles will be available when unplugged.
18898 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18899 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18900 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18901 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18902 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18903 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18904 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18905 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18907 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18908 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18909 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18910 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18911 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18912 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18913 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18914 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18915 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18917 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18918 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18919 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18920 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18921 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18922 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18923 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18924 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18925 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18926 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18928 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18929 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18930 group parameter to @code{t}. This parameter, like all other agent
18931 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent Categories}),
18932 a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an individual group
18933 (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18935 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
18936 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
18937 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
18938 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
18939 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
18940 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
18941 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
18942 expiring'' articles.
18944 @node Agent as Cache
18945 @subsection Agent as Cache
18947 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18948 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18949 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18950 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18951 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18952 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18953 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18954 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18955 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18957 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18958 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18959 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18960 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18961 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18964 @subsection Agent Expiry
18966 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18967 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18968 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18969 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18970 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18971 @cindex agent expiry
18972 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18973 @cindex expiry, in Gnus agent
18975 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18976 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18977 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18978 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18979 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18980 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18981 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18982 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18984 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18985 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18986 synchronized with the group.
18988 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18989 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18991 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18992 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18993 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18994 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18995 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18996 be kept indefinitely.
18998 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18999 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
19000 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
19001 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
19003 @node Agent Regeneration
19004 @subsection Agent Regeneration
19006 @cindex agent regeneration
19007 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
19008 @cindex regeneration
19010 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
19011 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
19012 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
19013 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
19014 internal inconsistencies.
19016 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
19017 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
19018 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
19019 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
19020 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
19021 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
19023 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
19024 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
19025 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
19026 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
19027 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
19028 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
19030 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19031 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
19032 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
19033 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
19034 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
19035 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
19038 @node Agent and flags
19039 @subsection Agent and flags
19041 The Agent works with any Gnus back end including those, such as
19042 nnimap, that store flags (read, ticked, etc) on the server. Sadly,
19043 the Agent does not actually know which backends keep their flags in
19044 the backend server rather than in @file{.newsrc}. This means that the
19045 Agent, while unplugged or disconnected, will always record all changes
19046 to the flags in its own files.
19048 When you plug back in, Gnus will then check to see if you have any
19049 changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the
19050 server. This behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
19052 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19053 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19054 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19055 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19056 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19057 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19059 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
19060 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
19061 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
19062 in the group buffer.
19064 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
19065 all local flags to the server, but rather by incrementally updated the
19066 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
19067 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group then
19068 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
19069 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
19070 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
19071 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
19073 @node Agent and IMAP
19074 @subsection Agent and IMAP
19076 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
19077 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
19078 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
19079 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
19081 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
19082 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
19087 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
19090 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
19094 @node Outgoing Messages
19095 @subsection Outgoing Messages
19097 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
19098 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
19099 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
19101 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
19102 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
19103 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
19105 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
19106 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
19107 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
19108 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
19111 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
19112 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
19113 ask you to confirm your action (see
19114 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
19116 @node Agent Variables
19117 @subsection Agent Variables
19122 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
19123 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
19124 automatically mark some back ends as agentized. You may change which
19125 back ends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
19127 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
19128 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
19131 @item gnus-agent-directory
19132 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
19133 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
19134 @file{~/News/agent/}.
19136 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
19137 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
19138 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
19139 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
19140 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
19143 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19144 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
19145 Hook run when connecting to the network.
19147 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19148 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
19149 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
19151 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19152 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
19153 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
19155 @item gnus-agent-cache
19156 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
19157 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
19158 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
19159 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
19161 @item gnus-agent-go-online
19162 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
19163 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
19164 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
19165 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
19166 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
19167 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
19170 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19171 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
19172 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
19173 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
19174 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
19175 read. The default is @code{t}.
19177 @item gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19178 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
19179 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
19180 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
19181 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
19182 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
19183 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
19185 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19186 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
19187 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
19188 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
19189 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
19190 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
19191 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
19192 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
19193 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
19194 over and over again.
19196 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19197 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
19198 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
19199 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
19200 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
19201 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
19202 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
19203 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
19204 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
19205 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
19206 However, all articles parsed prior to losing the connection will be
19207 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
19210 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
19211 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
19212 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
19213 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
19214 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
19215 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
19216 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
19217 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
19218 is only valid if the Agent is used.
19220 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19221 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
19222 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
19223 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
19224 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
19225 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
19227 The valid values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
19228 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
19229 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
19230 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
19231 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
19233 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
19234 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
19235 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
19236 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
19237 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
19238 mail. The default is @code{t}.
19240 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19241 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
19242 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
19243 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
19244 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
19246 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19247 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
19248 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
19249 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
19250 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
19251 which back ends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
19252 to agentize remote back ends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
19253 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
19254 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
19255 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
19256 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
19261 @node Example Setup
19262 @subsection Example Setup
19264 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
19265 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
19266 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
19269 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
19270 ;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
19271 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
19273 ;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
19274 ;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
19275 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
19277 ;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
19278 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
19280 ;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
19281 ;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
19282 ;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
19285 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
19286 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
19289 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
19290 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
19291 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
19292 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
19293 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
19296 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
19297 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
19298 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
19299 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
19300 back all the killed groups.)
19302 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
19303 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
19304 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
19307 @node Batching Agents
19308 @subsection Batching Agents
19309 @findex gnus-agent-batch
19311 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
19312 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
19313 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
19315 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
19316 following incantation:
19320 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
19324 @node Agent Caveats
19325 @subsection Agent Caveats
19327 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
19328 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
19332 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
19334 @strong{No}. If you want this behavior, add
19335 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
19336 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
19338 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
19339 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
19341 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
19345 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
19346 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
19347 locally stored articles.
19354 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
19355 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
19356 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
19359 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
19360 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
19361 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
19362 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
19363 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
19365 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
19366 before generating the summary buffer.
19368 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
19369 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
19370 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
19372 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
19373 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
19374 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
19375 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
19378 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
19379 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
19380 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
19381 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
19382 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
19383 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
19384 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
19385 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
19386 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
19387 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
19388 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
19389 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
19390 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
19391 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
19392 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
19393 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
19397 @node Summary Score Commands
19398 @section Summary Score Commands
19399 @cindex score commands
19401 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
19402 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
19403 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
19404 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
19405 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
19407 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
19408 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
19409 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
19410 score file the current one.
19412 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
19417 @kindex V s (Summary)
19418 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
19419 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
19422 @kindex V S (Summary)
19423 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
19424 Display the score of the current article
19425 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
19428 @kindex V t (Summary)
19429 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
19430 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
19431 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
19432 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
19433 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
19434 score file and edit it.
19437 @kindex V w (Summary)
19438 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
19439 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
19442 @kindex V R (Summary)
19443 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
19444 Run the current summary through the scoring process
19445 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
19446 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
19447 effect you're having.
19450 @kindex V c (Summary)
19451 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
19452 Make a different score file the current
19453 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
19456 @kindex V e (Summary)
19457 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
19458 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
19459 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
19463 @kindex V f (Summary)
19464 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
19465 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
19466 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
19469 @kindex V F (Summary)
19470 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19471 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
19472 after editing score files.
19475 @kindex V C (Summary)
19476 @findex gnus-score-customize
19477 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
19478 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
19482 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
19487 @kindex V m (Summary)
19488 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
19489 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
19490 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
19493 @kindex V x (Summary)
19494 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
19495 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
19496 expunge all articles below this score
19497 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
19500 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
19501 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
19504 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
19505 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
19509 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
19510 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
19512 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
19513 keys are available:
19517 Score on the author name.
19520 Score on the subject line.
19523 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19526 Score on the @code{References} line.
19532 Score on the number of lines.
19535 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19538 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19539 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19542 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19543 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19544 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19553 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19559 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19560 what headers you are scoring on.
19572 Substring matching.
19575 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19604 Greater than number.
19609 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19610 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19611 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19616 Temporary score entry.
19619 Permanent score entry.
19622 Immediately scoring.
19626 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19627 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19628 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19632 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19633 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19634 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19635 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19637 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19638 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19639 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19640 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19641 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19643 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19644 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19645 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19646 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19647 current score file.
19649 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19650 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19651 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19654 @node Group Score Commands
19655 @section Group Score Commands
19656 @cindex group score commands
19658 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19663 @kindex W e (Group)
19664 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19665 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19666 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19669 @kindex W f (Group)
19670 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19671 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19672 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19673 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19677 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19679 @findex gnus-batch-score
19680 @cindex batch scoring
19682 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19686 @node Score Variables
19687 @section Score Variables
19688 @cindex score variables
19692 @item gnus-use-scoring
19693 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19694 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19695 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19697 @item gnus-kill-killed
19698 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19699 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19700 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19701 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19702 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19703 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19704 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19706 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19707 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19708 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19709 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19710 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19712 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19713 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19714 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19715 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19717 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19718 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19719 @cindex score cache
19720 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19721 score files. However, this might make your Emacs grow big and
19722 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19723 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19724 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19725 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19726 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19729 @item gnus-save-score
19730 @vindex gnus-save-score
19731 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19732 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19733 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19735 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19736 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19737 across group visits.
19739 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19740 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19741 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19742 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19743 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19744 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19745 manually entered data.
19747 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19748 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19749 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19751 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19752 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19753 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19754 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19755 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19756 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19758 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19759 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19760 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19761 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19763 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19764 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19765 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19766 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19768 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19769 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19770 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19771 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19773 Predefined functions available are:
19776 @item gnus-score-find-single
19777 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19778 Only apply the group's own score file.
19780 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19781 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19782 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19783 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19784 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19785 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19786 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19787 then a regexp match is done.
19789 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19790 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19792 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19793 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19794 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19795 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19797 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19798 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19799 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19800 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19801 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19805 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19806 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19807 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19808 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19809 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19810 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19811 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19814 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19815 overall score file, you could use the value
19817 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19818 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19821 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19822 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19823 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19824 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19825 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19827 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19828 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19829 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19830 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19831 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19832 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19833 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19834 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19836 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19837 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19838 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19840 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19841 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19842 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19843 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19844 threading---according to the current value of
19845 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19846 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19847 simplified in this manner.
19852 @node Score File Format
19853 @section Score File Format
19854 @cindex score file format
19856 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19857 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19858 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19860 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19864 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19866 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19868 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19870 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19875 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19879 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19880 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19881 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19882 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19886 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19887 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19889 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19890 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19891 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19893 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19898 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19899 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19900 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19901 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19902 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19903 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19904 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19905 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19906 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19907 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19908 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19909 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19910 to articles that matches these score entries.
19912 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19913 score entry has one to four elements.
19917 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19918 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19922 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19923 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19924 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19925 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19926 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19927 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19930 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19931 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19932 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19933 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19934 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19937 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19938 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19939 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19940 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19943 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19944 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19945 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19946 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19947 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19948 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19949 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19950 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19951 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19952 instead, if you feel like.
19955 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19956 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19957 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19958 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19959 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19960 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19964 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19965 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19969 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19970 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19972 These predicates are true if
19975 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19978 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19979 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19986 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19987 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19988 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19989 it's not. I think.)
19991 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19992 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19993 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19994 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19997 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19998 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19999 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
20000 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
20001 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
20002 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
20003 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
20007 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
20008 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
20009 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
20010 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
20011 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
20012 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
20013 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
20014 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
20017 @item Head, Body, All
20018 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
20022 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
20023 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
20024 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
20025 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
20026 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
20027 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
20028 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
20032 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
20033 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
20034 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
20035 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
20036 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
20037 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
20038 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
20039 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
20040 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
20041 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
20042 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
20046 @cindex score file atoms
20048 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20049 lower than this number will be marked as read.
20052 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20053 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
20055 @item mark-and-expunge
20056 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
20057 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
20060 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
20061 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
20062 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
20063 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
20064 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
20067 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
20068 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
20071 @item exclude-files
20072 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
20073 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
20077 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}ed. This element will be
20078 ignored when handling global score files.
20081 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
20082 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
20083 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
20084 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
20087 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
20088 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
20089 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
20090 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
20092 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
20096 (mark-and-expunge -100)
20099 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
20100 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
20101 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{c y}) the
20102 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
20103 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
20105 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
20106 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
20107 scoring rules exist.
20110 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
20111 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
20112 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
20113 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
20114 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
20115 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
20116 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20117 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
20118 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
20119 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
20120 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
20124 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
20125 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
20126 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
20127 file for a number of groups.
20130 @cindex local variables
20131 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
20132 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
20133 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
20134 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
20135 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
20140 @node Score File Editing
20141 @section Score File Editing
20143 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
20144 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
20145 with a mode for that.
20147 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
20148 additional commands:
20153 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
20154 @findex gnus-score-edit-exit
20155 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
20156 (@code{gnus-score-edit-exit}).
20159 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
20160 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
20161 Insert the current date in numerical format
20162 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
20163 you were wondering.
20166 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
20167 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
20168 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
20169 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
20170 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
20175 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
20177 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
20178 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
20180 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
20181 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
20184 @node Adaptive Scoring
20185 @section Adaptive Scoring
20186 @cindex adaptive scoring
20188 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
20189 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
20190 stupidity, to be precise.
20192 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
20193 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
20194 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
20195 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
20196 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
20197 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
20198 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
20199 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
20200 variable to @code{(word line)}.
20202 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20203 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
20204 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
20205 might look something like this:
20208 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
20209 '((gnus-unread-mark)
20210 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
20211 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
20212 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
20213 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
20214 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
20215 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
20216 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
20217 (gnus-ancient-mark)
20218 (gnus-low-score-mark)
20219 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
20222 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
20223 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
20224 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
20225 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
20226 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
20227 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
20230 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
20231 will be applied to each article.
20233 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
20234 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
20235 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
20236 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
20238 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
20239 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
20240 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
20241 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
20243 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
20244 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
20245 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
20246 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
20248 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
20249 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
20250 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
20251 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
20252 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
20253 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
20255 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
20256 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
20257 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
20259 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
20260 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
20261 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
20263 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
20264 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
20265 let you use different rules in different groups.
20267 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
20268 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
20269 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
20272 @vindex gnus-adaptive-pretty-print
20273 Adaptive score files can get huge and are not meant to be edited by
20274 human hands. If @code{gnus-adaptive-pretty-print} is @code{nil} (the
20275 default) those files will not be written in a human readable way.
20277 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
20278 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
20279 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
20280 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
20281 the length of the match is less than
20282 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
20283 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
20286 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20287 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
20288 headers. If you adapt on words, the
20289 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
20290 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
20293 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
20294 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
20295 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
20296 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
20297 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
20300 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
20301 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
20302 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
20303 score with 30 points.
20305 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
20306 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
20307 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
20308 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
20309 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
20311 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
20312 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
20313 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
20314 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
20315 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
20317 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
20318 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
20319 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
20320 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
20322 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
20323 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
20324 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
20325 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
20327 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
20328 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
20329 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
20330 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
20331 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
20333 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
20334 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
20335 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
20337 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
20338 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
20339 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
20340 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
20343 @node Home Score File
20344 @section Home Score File
20346 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
20347 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
20348 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
20349 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
20351 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
20352 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
20353 could perhaps use the same home score file.
20355 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
20356 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
20361 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
20365 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
20366 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
20370 A list. The elements in this list can be:
20374 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
20375 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
20378 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
20379 be used as the home score file. The function will be called with the
20380 name of the group as the parameter.
20383 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
20386 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
20391 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
20394 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20395 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
20398 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
20399 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
20401 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
20403 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20404 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
20407 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
20408 Other functions include
20411 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
20412 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
20413 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
20414 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
20418 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
20419 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
20420 their own home score files:
20423 (setq gnus-home-score-file
20424 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
20425 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
20426 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
20427 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
20430 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
20431 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
20432 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
20433 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
20434 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
20436 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
20437 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
20438 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
20439 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
20440 precedence over this variable.
20443 @node Followups To Yourself
20444 @section Followups To Yourself
20446 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
20447 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
20448 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
20449 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
20450 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
20451 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
20455 @item gnus-score-followup-article
20456 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
20457 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
20460 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
20461 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
20462 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
20466 @vindex message-sent-hook
20467 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
20468 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
20470 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
20474 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
20475 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
20479 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20480 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
20483 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
20484 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
20489 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
20493 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
20494 is system-dependent.
20497 @node Scoring On Other Headers
20498 @section Scoring On Other Headers
20499 @cindex scoring on other headers
20501 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
20502 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
20503 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
20504 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
20505 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
20507 @vindex gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring
20508 You can inhibit this slow scoring on headers or body by setting the
20509 variable @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring}. If
20510 @code{gnus-inhibit-slow-scoring} is regexp, slow scoring is inhibited if
20511 the group matches the regexp. If it is t, slow scoring on it is
20512 inhibited for all groups.
20514 Now, there's not much you can do about the slowness for news groups, but for
20515 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
20516 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
20517 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
20518 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
20520 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
20523 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
20524 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
20527 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
20528 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
20529 time if you have much mail.
20531 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
20532 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
20538 @section Scoring Tips
20539 @cindex scoring tips
20545 @cindex scoring crossposts
20546 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20547 the @code{Xref} header.
20549 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20552 @item Multiple crossposts
20553 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20554 more than, say, 3 groups:
20557 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20561 @item Matching on the body
20562 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20563 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20564 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20565 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20566 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20567 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20568 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20571 @item Marking as read
20572 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20573 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20574 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20578 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20580 @item Negated character classes
20581 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20582 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20583 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20587 @node Reverse Scoring
20588 @section Reverse Scoring
20589 @cindex reverse scoring
20591 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20592 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20593 like this in your score file:
20597 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20602 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20603 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20606 @node Global Score Files
20607 @section Global Score Files
20608 @cindex global score files
20610 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20611 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20612 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20614 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20615 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20616 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20618 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20619 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20620 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20621 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20622 files are applicable to which group.
20624 To use the score file
20625 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20626 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20630 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20631 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20632 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20635 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20637 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20638 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20639 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20640 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20642 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20643 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20645 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20646 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20647 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20648 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20649 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20650 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20652 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20658 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20660 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20662 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20664 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20665 lowered out of existence.
20667 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20668 articles completely.
20671 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20672 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20673 old articles for a long time.
20676 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20677 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20678 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20679 holding our breath yet?
20683 @section Kill Files
20686 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20687 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20688 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20690 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20691 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20692 files into score files.
20694 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20695 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20696 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20697 that isn't a very good idea.
20699 Normal kill files look like this:
20702 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20703 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20707 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20708 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20710 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20711 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20714 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20719 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20720 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20721 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20724 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20725 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20726 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20729 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20734 @kindex M-k (Group)
20735 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20736 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20739 @kindex M-K (Group)
20740 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20741 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20744 Kill file variables:
20747 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20748 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20749 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20750 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20751 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20752 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20753 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20755 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20756 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20757 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20758 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20761 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20762 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20763 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20764 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20765 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20766 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20767 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20768 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20769 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20771 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20772 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20773 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20778 @node Converting Kill Files
20779 @section Converting Kill Files
20781 @cindex converting kill files
20783 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20784 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20785 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20788 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Emacs by default.
20789 You can fetch it from the contrib directory of the Gnus distribution or
20791 @uref{http://heim.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20793 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20794 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20795 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20799 @node Advanced Scoring
20800 @section Advanced Scoring
20802 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20803 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20804 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20805 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20806 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20808 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20812 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20813 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20814 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20818 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20819 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20821 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20822 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20823 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20824 non-@code{nil} value.
20826 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20827 operator, and various match operators.
20834 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20835 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20836 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20841 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20842 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20843 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20848 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20849 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20853 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20854 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20855 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20856 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20857 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20858 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20859 the ancestry you want to go.
20861 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20862 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20863 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20864 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20865 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20868 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20869 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20871 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20872 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20875 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20876 when he's talking about Gnus:
20881 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20882 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20889 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20893 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20900 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20901 really don't want to read what he's written:
20905 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20906 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigil Logge")))
20910 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20911 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20912 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20919 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20920 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20921 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20922 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20926 Suppose you're reading a high volume group and you're only interested
20927 in replies. The plan is to score down all articles that don't have
20928 subject that begin with "Re:", "Fw:" or "Fwd:" and then score up all
20929 parents of articles that have subjects that begin with reply marks.
20932 ((! ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20934 ((1- ("subject" "re:\\|fwd?:" r))
20938 The possibilities are endless.
20940 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20941 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20943 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20944 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20945 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20946 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20947 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20948 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20949 @samp{subject}) first.
20951 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20952 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20963 Then that means ``score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20964 current article''. An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20970 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20977 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20978 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20983 @section Score Decays
20984 @cindex score decays
20987 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20988 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20989 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20990 use them in any sensible way.
20992 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20993 @findex gnus-decay-score
20994 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20995 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20996 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20997 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20998 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20999 If @code{gnus-decay-scores} is a regexp, only score files matching this
21000 regexp are treated. E.g. you may set it to @samp{\\.ADAPT\\'} if only
21001 @emph{adaptive} score files should be decayed. The decay itself if
21002 performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function} function, which is
21003 @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the definition of that
21007 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
21008 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
21009 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
21011 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
21013 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
21015 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
21016 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
21017 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
21018 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
21019 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
21021 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
21025 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
21026 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
21027 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
21028 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
21032 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
21035 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
21038 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
21042 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
21043 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
21044 the new score, which should be an integer.
21046 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
21047 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
21053 FIXME: Add a brief overview of Gnus search capabilities. A brief
21054 comparison of nnir, nnmairix, contrib/gnus-namazu would be nice
21057 This chapter describes tools for searching groups and servers for
21058 articles matching a query and then retrieving those articles. Gnus
21059 provides a simpler mechanism for searching through articles in a summary buffer
21060 to find those matching a pattern. @xref{Searching for Articles}.
21063 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
21064 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
21071 This section describes how to use @code{nnir} to search for articles
21075 * What is nnir?:: What does @code{nnir} do?
21076 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
21077 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up @code{nnir}.
21080 @node What is nnir?
21081 @subsection What is nnir?
21083 @code{nnir} is a Gnus interface to a number of tools for searching
21084 through mail and news repositories. Different backends (like
21085 @code{nnimap} and @code{nntp}) work with different tools (called
21086 @dfn{engines} in @code{nnir} lingo), but all use the same basic search
21089 The @code{nnimap} and @code{gmane} search engines should work with no
21090 configuration. Other engines require a local index that needs to be
21091 created and maintained outside of Gnus.
21095 @subsection Basic Usage
21097 In the group buffer typing @kbd{G G} will search the group on the
21098 current line by calling @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. This prompts
21099 for a query string, creates an ephemeral @code{nnir} group containing
21100 the articles that match this query, and takes you to a summary buffer
21101 showing these articles. Articles may then be read, moved and deleted
21102 using the usual commands.
21104 The @code{nnir} group made in this way is an @code{ephemeral} group, and
21105 some changes are not permanent: aside from reading, moving, and
21106 deleting, you can't act on the original article. But there is an
21107 alternative: you can @emph{warp} to the original group for the article
21108 on the current line with @kbd{A W}, aka
21109 @code{gnus-warp-to-article}. Even better, the function
21110 @code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}, bound by default in summary buffers to
21111 @kbd{A T}, will first warp to the original group before it works its
21112 magic and includes all the articles in the thread. From here you can
21113 read, move and delete articles, but also copy them, alter article marks,
21116 You say you want to search more than just the group on the current line?
21117 No problem: just process-mark the groups you want to search. You want
21118 even more? Calling for an nnir search with the cursor on a topic heading
21119 will search all the groups under that heading.
21121 Still not enough? OK, in the server buffer
21122 @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group} (now bound to @kbd{G}) will search all
21123 groups from the server on the current line. Too much? Want to ignore
21124 certain groups when searching, like spam groups? Just customize
21125 @code{nnir-ignored-newsgroups}.
21127 One more thing: individual search engines may have special search
21128 features. You can access these special features by giving a prefix-arg
21129 to @code{gnus-group-make-nnir-group}. If you are searching multiple
21130 groups with different search engines you will be prompted for the
21131 special search features for each engine separately.
21134 @node Setting up nnir
21135 @subsection Setting up nnir
21137 To set up nnir you may need to do some prep work. Firstly, you may need
21138 to configure the search engines you plan to use. Some of them, like
21139 @code{imap} and @code{gmane}, need no special configuration. Others,
21140 like @code{namazu} and @code{swish}, require configuration as described
21141 below. Secondly, you need to associate a search engine with a server or
21144 If you just want to use the @code{imap} engine to search @code{nnimap}
21145 servers, and the @code{gmane} engine to search @code{gmane} then you
21146 don't have to do anything. But you might want to read the details of the
21147 query language anyway.
21150 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
21151 * The imap Engine:: Imap configuration and usage.
21152 * The gmane Engine:: Gmane configuration and usage.
21153 * The swish++ Engine:: Swish++ configuration and usage.
21154 * The swish-e Engine:: Swish-e configuration and usage.
21155 * The namazu Engine:: Namazu configuration and usage.
21156 * The hyrex Engine:: Hyrex configuration and usage.
21157 * Customizations:: User customizable settings.
21160 @node Associating Engines
21161 @subsubsection Associating Engines
21164 When searching a group, @code{nnir} needs to know which search engine to
21165 use. You can configure a given server to use a particular engine by
21166 setting the server variable @code{nnir-search-engine} to the engine
21167 name. For example to use the @code{namazu} engine to search the server
21168 named @code{home} you can use
21171 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
21173 (nnimap-address "localhost")
21174 (nnir-search-engine namazu))))
21177 Alternatively you might want to use a particular engine for all servers
21178 with a given backend. For example, you might want to use the @code{imap}
21179 engine for all servers using the @code{nnimap} backend. In this case you
21180 can customize the variable @code{nnir-method-default-engines}. This is
21181 an alist of pairs of the form @code{(backend . engine)}. By default this
21182 variable is set to use the @code{imap} engine for all servers using the
21183 @code{nnimap} backend, and the @code{gmane} backend for @code{nntp}
21184 servers. (Don't worry, the @code{gmane} search engine won't actually try
21185 to search non-gmane @code{nntp} servers.) But if you wanted to use
21186 @code{namazu} for all your servers with an @code{nnimap} backend you
21187 could change this to
21190 '((nnimap . namazu)
21194 @node The imap Engine
21195 @subsubsection The imap Engine
21197 The @code{imap} engine requires no configuration.
21199 Queries using the @code{imap} engine follow a simple query language.
21200 The search is always case-insensitive and supports the following
21201 features (inspired by the Google search input language):
21205 @item Boolean query operators
21206 AND, OR, and NOT are supported, and parentheses can be used to control
21207 operator precedence, e.g. (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux. Note that
21208 operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21209 recognised. Also preceding a term with a - sign is equivalent to NOT
21212 @item Automatic AND queries
21213 If you specify multiple words then they will be treated as an AND
21214 expression intended to match all components.
21216 @item Phrase searches
21217 If you wrap your query in double-quotes then it will be treated as a
21222 By default the whole message will be searched. The query can be limited
21223 to a specific part of a message by using a prefix-arg. After inputting
21224 the query this will prompt (with completion) for a message part.
21225 Choices include ``Whole message'', ``Subject'', ``From'', and
21226 ``To''. Any unrecognized input is interpreted as a header name. For
21227 example, typing @kbd{Message-ID} in response to this prompt will limit
21228 the query to the Message-ID header.
21230 Finally selecting ``Imap'' will interpret the query as a raw
21231 @acronym{IMAP} search query. The format of such queries can be found in
21234 If you don't like the default of searching whole messages you can
21235 customize @code{nnir-imap-default-search-key}. For example to use
21236 @acronym{IMAP} queries by default
21239 (setq nnir-imap-default-search-key "Imap")
21242 @node The gmane Engine
21243 @subsubsection The gmane Engine
21245 The @code{gmane} engine requires no configuration.
21247 Gmane queries follow a simple query language:
21250 @item Boolean query operators
21251 AND, OR, NOT (or AND NOT), and XOR are supported, and brackets can be
21252 used to control operator precedence, e.g. (emacs OR xemacs) AND linux.
21253 Note that operators must be written with all capital letters to be
21256 @item Required and excluded terms
21257 + and - can be used to require or exclude terms, e.g. football -american
21259 @item Unicode handling
21260 The search engine converts all text to utf-8, so searching should work
21264 Common English words (like 'the' and 'a') are ignored by default. You
21265 can override this by prefixing such words with a + (e.g. +the) or
21266 enclosing the word in quotes (e.g. "the").
21270 The query can be limited to articles by a specific author using a
21271 prefix-arg. After inputting the query this will prompt for an author
21272 name (or part of a name) to match.
21274 @node The swish++ Engine
21275 @subsubsection The swish++ Engine
21277 FIXEM: Say something more here.
21279 Documentation for swish++ may be found at the swish++ sourceforge page:
21280 @uref{http://swishplusplus.sourceforge.net}
21284 @item nnir-swish++-program
21285 The name of the swish++ executable. Defaults to @code{search}
21287 @item nnir-swish++-additional-switches
21288 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21289 swish++. @code{nil} by default.
21291 @item nnir-swish++-remove-prefix
21292 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish++ in order
21293 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21297 @node The swish-e Engine
21298 @subsubsection The swish-e Engine
21300 FIXEM: Say something more here.
21302 Documentation for swish-e may be found at the swish-e homepage
21303 @uref{http://swish-e.org}
21307 @item nnir-swish-e-program
21308 The name of the swish-e search program. Defaults to @code{swish-e}.
21310 @item nnir-swish-e-additional-switches
21311 A list of strings to be given as additional arguments to
21312 swish-e. @code{nil} by default.
21314 @item nnir-swish-e-remove-prefix
21315 The prefix to remove from each file name returned by swish-e in order
21316 to get a group name. By default this is @code{$HOME/Mail}.
21320 @node The namazu Engine
21321 @subsubsection The namazu Engine
21323 Using the namazu engine requires creating and maintaining index files.
21324 One directory should contain all the index files, and nnir must be told
21325 where to find them by setting the @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory}
21328 To work correctly the @code{nnir-namazu-remove-prefix} variable must
21329 also be correct. This is the prefix to remove from each file name
21330 returned by Namazu in order to get a proper group name (albeit with `/'
21333 For example, suppose that Namazu returns file names such as
21334 @samp{/home/john/Mail/mail/misc/42}. For this example, use the
21335 following setting: @code{(setq nnir-namazu-remove-prefix
21336 "/home/john/Mail/")} Note the trailing slash. Removing this prefix from
21337 the directory gives @samp{mail/misc/42}. @code{nnir} knows to remove
21338 the @samp{/42} and to replace @samp{/} with @samp{.} to arrive at the
21339 correct group name @samp{mail.misc}.
21341 Extra switches may be passed to the namazu search command by setting the
21342 variable @code{nnir-namazu-additional-switches}. It is particularly
21343 important not to pass any any switches to namazu that will change the
21344 output format. Good switches to use include `--sort', `--ascending',
21345 `--early' and `--late'. Refer to the Namazu documentation for further
21346 information on valid switches.
21348 Mail must first be indexed with the `mknmz' program. Read the documentation
21349 for namazu to create a configuration file. Here is an example:
21353 package conf; # Don't remove this line!
21355 # Paths which will not be indexed. Don't use `^' or `$' anchors.
21356 $EXCLUDE_PATH = "spam|sent";
21358 # Header fields which should be searchable. case-insensitive
21359 $REMAIN_HEADER = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21361 # Searchable fields. case-insensitive
21362 $SEARCH_FIELD = "from|date|message-id|subject";
21364 # The max length of a word.
21365 $WORD_LENG_MAX = 128;
21367 # The max length of a field.
21368 $MAX_FIELD_LENGTH = 256;
21372 For this example, mail is stored in the directories @samp{~/Mail/mail/},
21373 @samp{~/Mail/lists/} and @samp{~/Mail/archive/}, so to index them go to
21374 the index directory set in @code{nnir-namazu-index-directory} and issue
21375 the following command:
21378 mknmz --mailnews ~/Mail/archive/ ~/Mail/mail/ ~/Mail/lists/
21381 For maximum searching efficiency you might want to have a cron job run
21382 this command periodically, say every four hours.
21384 @node The hyrex Engine
21385 @subsubsection The hyrex Engine
21386 This engine is obsolete.
21388 @node Customizations
21389 @subsubsection Custimozations
21393 @item nnir-method-default-engines
21394 Alist of server backend - search engine pairs. The default associations
21401 @item nnir-ignored-newsgroups
21402 A regexp to match newsgroups in the active file that should be skipped
21403 when searching all groups on a server.
21405 @item nnir-summary-line-format
21406 The format specification to be used for lines in an nnir summary buffer.
21407 All the items from `gnus-summary-line-format' are available, along with
21408 three items unique to nnir summary buffers:
21411 %Z Search retrieval score value (integer)
21412 %G Article original full group name (string)
21413 %g Article original short group name (string)
21416 If nil (the default) this will use @code{gnus-summary-line-format}.
21418 @item nnir-retrieve-headers-override-function
21419 If non-nil, a function that retrieves article headers rather than using
21420 the gnus built-in function. This function takes an article list and
21421 group as arguments and populates the `nntp-server-buffer' with the
21422 retrieved headers. It should then return either 'nov or 'headers
21423 indicating the retrieved header format. Failure to retrieve headers
21424 should return @code{nil}
21426 If this variable is nil, or if the provided function returns nil for a
21427 search result, @code{gnus-retrieve-headers} will be called instead."
21438 This paragraph describes how to set up mairix and the back end
21439 @code{nnmairix} for indexing and searching your mail from within
21440 Gnus. Additionally, you can create permanent ``smart'' groups which are
21441 bound to mairix searches and are automatically updated.
21444 * About mairix:: About the mairix mail search engine
21445 * nnmairix requirements:: What you will need for using nnmairix
21446 * What nnmairix does:: What does nnmairix actually do?
21447 * Setting up mairix:: Set up your mairix installation
21448 * Configuring nnmairix:: Set up the nnmairix back end
21449 * nnmairix keyboard shortcuts:: List of available keyboard shortcuts
21450 * Propagating marks:: How to propagate marks from nnmairix groups
21451 * nnmairix tips and tricks:: Some tips, tricks and examples
21452 * nnmairix caveats:: Some more stuff you might want to know
21455 @c FIXME: The markup in this section might need improvement.
21456 @c E.g. adding @samp, @var, @file, @command, etc.
21457 @c Cf. (info "(texinfo)Indicating")
21460 @subsection About mairix
21462 Mairix is a tool for indexing and searching words in locally stored
21463 mail. It was written by Richard Curnow and is licensed under the
21464 GPL. Mairix comes with most popular GNU/Linux distributions, but it also
21465 runs under Windows (with cygwin), Mac OS X and Solaris. The homepage can
21467 @uref{http://www.rpcurnow.force9.co.uk/mairix/index.html}
21469 Though mairix might not be as flexible as other search tools like
21470 swish++ or namazu, which you can use via the @code{nnir} back end, it
21471 has the prime advantage of being incredibly fast. On current systems, it
21472 can easily search through headers and message bodies of thousands and
21473 thousands of mails in well under a second. Building the database
21474 necessary for searching might take a minute or two, but only has to be
21475 done once fully. Afterwards, the updates are done incrementally and
21476 therefore are really fast, too. Additionally, mairix is very easy to set
21479 For maximum speed though, mairix should be used with mails stored in
21480 @code{Maildir} or @code{MH} format (this includes the @code{nnml} back
21481 end), although it also works with mbox. Mairix presents the search
21482 results by populating a @emph{virtual} maildir/MH folder with symlinks
21483 which point to the ``real'' message files (if mbox is used, copies are
21484 made). Since mairix already presents search results in such a virtual
21485 mail folder, it is very well suited for using it as an external program
21486 for creating @emph{smart} mail folders, which represent certain mail
21489 @node nnmairix requirements
21490 @subsection nnmairix requirements
21492 Mairix searches local mail---that means, mairix absolutely must have
21493 direct access to your mail folders. If your mail resides on another
21494 server (e.g. an @acronym{IMAP} server) and you happen to have shell
21495 access, @code{nnmairix} supports running mairix remotely, e.g. via ssh.
21497 Additionally, @code{nnmairix} only supports the following Gnus back
21498 ends: @code{nnml}, @code{nnmaildir}, and @code{nnimap}. You must use
21499 one of these back ends for using @code{nnmairix}. Other back ends, like
21500 @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnfolder} or @code{nnmh}, won't work.
21502 If you absolutely must use mbox and still want to use @code{nnmairix},
21503 you can set up a local @acronym{IMAP} server, which you then access via
21504 @code{nnimap}. This is a rather massive setup for accessing some mbox
21505 files, so just change to MH or Maildir already... However, if you're
21506 really, really passionate about using mbox, you might want to look into
21507 the package @file{mairix.el}, which comes with Emacs 23.
21509 @node What nnmairix does
21510 @subsection What nnmairix does
21512 The back end @code{nnmairix} enables you to call mairix from within Gnus,
21513 either to query mairix with a search term or to update the
21514 database. While visiting a message in the summary buffer, you can use
21515 several pre-defined shortcuts for calling mairix, e.g. to quickly
21516 search for all mails from the sender of the current message or to
21517 display the whole thread associated with the message, even if the
21518 mails are in different folders.
21520 Additionally, you can create permanent @code{nnmairix} groups which are bound
21521 to certain mairix searches. This way, you can easily create a group
21522 containing mails from a certain sender, with a certain subject line or
21523 even for one specific thread based on the Message-ID. If you check for
21524 new mail in these folders (e.g. by pressing @kbd{g} or @kbd{M-g}), they
21525 automatically update themselves by calling mairix.
21527 You might ask why you need @code{nnmairix} at all, since mairix already
21528 creates the group, populates it with links to the mails so that you can
21529 then access it with Gnus, right? Well, this @emph{might} work, but often
21530 does not---at least not without problems. Most probably you will get
21531 strange article counts, and sometimes you might see mails which Gnus
21532 claims have already been canceled and are inaccessible. This is due to
21533 the fact that Gnus isn't really amused when things are happening behind
21534 its back. Another problem can be the mail back end itself, e.g. if you
21535 use mairix with an @acronym{IMAP} server (I had Dovecot complaining
21536 about corrupt index files when mairix changed the contents of the search
21537 group). Using @code{nnmairix} should circumvent these problems.
21539 @code{nnmairix} is not really a mail back end---it's actually more like
21540 a wrapper, sitting between a ``real'' mail back end where mairix stores
21541 the searches and the Gnus front end. You can choose between three
21542 different mail back ends for the mairix folders: @code{nnml},
21543 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnimap}. @code{nnmairix} will call the mairix
21544 binary so that the search results are stored in folders named
21545 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>} on this mail back end, but it will
21546 present these folders in the Gnus front end only with @code{<NAME>}.
21547 You can use an existing mail back end where you already store your mail,
21548 but if you're uncomfortable with @code{nnmairix} creating new mail
21549 groups alongside your other mail, you can also create e.g. a new
21550 @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml} server exclusively for mairix, but then
21551 make sure those servers do not accidentally receive your new mail
21552 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). A special case exists if you want to use
21553 mairix remotely on an IMAP server with @code{nnimap}---here the mairix
21554 folders and your other mail must be on the same @code{nnimap} back end.
21556 @node Setting up mairix
21557 @subsection Setting up mairix
21559 First: create a backup of your mail folders (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}).
21561 Setting up mairix is easy: simply create a @file{.mairixrc} file with
21562 (at least) the following entries:
21565 # Your Maildir/MH base folder
21569 This is the base folder for your mails. All the following directories
21570 are relative to this base folder. If you want to use @code{nnmairix}
21571 with @code{nnimap}, this base directory has to point to the mail
21572 directory where the @acronym{IMAP} server stores the mail folders!
21575 maildir= ... your maildir folders which should be indexed ...
21576 mh= ... your nnml/mh folders which should be indexed ...
21577 mbox = ... your mbox files which should be indexed ...
21580 This specifies all your mail folders and mbox files (relative to the
21581 base directory!) you want to index with mairix. Note that the
21582 @code{nnml} back end saves mails in MH format, so you have to put those
21583 directories in the @code{mh} line. See the example at the end of this
21584 section and mairixrc's man-page for further details.
21590 @vindex nnmairix-group-prefix
21591 This should make sure that you don't accidentally index the mairix
21592 search results. You can change the prefix of these folders with the
21593 variable @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
21596 mformat= ... 'maildir' or 'mh' ...
21597 database= ... location of database file ...
21600 The @code{format} setting specifies the output format for the mairix
21601 search folder. Set this to @code{mh} if you want to access search results
21602 with @code{nnml}. Otherwise choose @code{maildir}.
21604 To summarize, here is my shortened @file{.mairixrc} file as an example:
21608 maildir=.personal:.work:.logcheck:.sent
21609 mh=../Mail/nnml/*...
21610 mbox=../mboxmail/mailarchive_year*
21613 database=~/.mairixdatabase
21616 In this case, the base directory is @file{~/Maildir}, where all my Maildir
21617 folders are stored. As you can see, the folders are separated by
21618 colons. If you wonder why every folder begins with a dot: this is
21619 because I use Dovecot as @acronym{IMAP} server, which again uses
21620 @code{Maildir++} folders. For testing nnmairix, I also have some
21621 @code{nnml} mail, which is saved in @file{~/Mail/nnml}. Since this has
21622 to be specified relative to the @code{base} directory, the @code{../Mail}
21623 notation is needed. Note that the line ends in @code{*...}, which means
21624 to recursively scan all files under this directory. Without the three
21625 dots, the wildcard @code{*} will not work recursively. I also have some
21626 old mbox files with archived mail lying around in @file{~/mboxmail}.
21627 The other lines should be obvious.
21629 See the man page for @code{mairixrc} for details and further options,
21630 especially regarding wildcard usage, which may be a little different
21631 than you are used to.
21633 Now simply call @code{mairix} to create the index for the first time.
21634 Note that this may take a few minutes, but every following index will do
21635 the updates incrementally and hence is very fast.
21637 @node Configuring nnmairix
21638 @subsection Configuring nnmairix
21640 In group mode, type @kbd{G b c}
21641 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). This will ask you for all
21642 necessary information and create a @code{nnmairix} server as a foreign
21643 server. You will have to specify the following:
21648 The @strong{name} of the @code{nnmairix} server---choose whatever you
21652 The name of the @strong{back end server} where mairix should store its
21653 searches. This must be a full server name, like @code{nnml:mymail}.
21654 Just hit @kbd{TAB} to see the available servers. Currently, servers
21655 which are accessed through @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnimap} and
21656 @code{nnml} are supported. As explained above, for locally stored
21657 mails, this can be an existing server where you store your mails.
21658 However, you can also create e.g. a new @code{nnmaildir} or @code{nnml}
21659 server exclusively for @code{nnmairix} in your secondary select methods
21660 (@pxref{Finding the News}). If you use a secondary @code{nnml} server
21661 just for mairix, make sure that you explicitly set the server variable
21662 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}, or you might lose mail
21663 (@pxref{nnmairix caveats}). If you want to use mairix remotely on an
21664 @acronym{IMAP} server, you have to choose the corresponding
21665 @code{nnimap} server here.
21668 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-search-options
21669 The @strong{command} to call the mairix binary. This will usually just
21670 be @code{mairix}, but you can also choose something like @code{ssh
21671 SERVER mairix} if you want to call mairix remotely, e.g. on your
21672 @acronym{IMAP} server. If you want to add some default options to
21673 mairix, you could do this here, but better use the variable
21674 @code{nnmairix-mairix-search-options} instead.
21677 The name of the @strong{default search group}. This will be the group
21678 where all temporary mairix searches are stored, i.e. all searches which
21679 are not bound to permanent @code{nnmairix} groups. Choose whatever you
21683 If the mail back end is @code{nnimap} or @code{nnmaildir}, you will be
21684 asked if you work with @strong{Maildir++}, i.e. with hidden maildir
21685 folders (=beginning with a dot). For example, you have to answer
21686 @samp{yes} here if you work with the Dovecot @acronym{IMAP}
21687 server. Otherwise, you should answer @samp{no} here.
21691 @node nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21692 @subsection nnmairix keyboard shortcuts
21699 @kindex G b c (Group)
21700 @findex nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group
21701 Creates @code{nnmairix} server and default search group for this server
21702 (@code{nnmairix-create-server-and-default-group}). You should have done
21703 this by now (@pxref{Configuring nnmairix}).
21706 @kindex G b s (Group)
21707 @findex nnmairix-search
21708 Prompts for query which is then sent to the mairix binary. Search
21709 results are put into the default search group which is automatically
21710 displayed (@code{nnmairix-search}).
21713 @kindex G b m (Group)
21714 @findex nnmairix-widget-search
21715 Allows you to create a mairix search or a permanent group more
21716 comfortably using graphical widgets, similar to a customization
21717 group. Just try it to see how it works (@code{nnmairix-widget-search}).
21720 @kindex G b i (Group)
21721 @findex nnmairix-search-interactive
21722 Another command for creating a mairix query more comfortably, but uses
21723 only the minibuffer (@code{nnmairix-search-interactive}).
21726 @kindex G b g (Group)
21727 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group
21728 Creates a permanent group which is associated with a search query
21729 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group}). The @code{nnmairix} back end
21730 automatically calls mairix when you update this group with @kbd{g} or
21734 @kindex G b q (Group)
21735 @findex nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group
21736 Changes the search query for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor
21737 (@code{nnmairix-group-change-query-this-group}).
21740 @kindex G b t (Group)
21741 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group
21742 Toggles the 'threads' parameter for the @code{nnmairix} group under cursor,
21743 i.e. if you want see the whole threads of the found messages
21744 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-threads-this-group}).
21747 @kindex G b u (Group)
21748 @findex nnmairix-update-database
21749 @vindex nnmairix-mairix-update-options
21750 Calls mairix binary for updating the database
21751 (@code{nnmairix-update-database}). The default parameters are @code{-F}
21752 and @code{-Q} for making this as fast as possible (see variable
21753 @code{nnmairix-mairix-update-options} for defining these default
21757 @kindex G b r (Group)
21758 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group
21759 Keep articles in this @code{nnmairix} group always read or unread, or leave the
21760 marks unchanged (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-readmarks-this-group}).
21763 @kindex G b d (Group)
21764 @findex nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group
21765 Recreate @code{nnmairix} group on the ``real'' mail back end
21766 (@code{nnmairix-group-delete-recreate-this-group}). You can do this if
21767 you always get wrong article counts with a @code{nnmairix} group.
21770 @kindex G b a (Group)
21771 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group
21772 Toggles the @code{allow-fast} parameters for group under cursor
21773 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-allowfast-this-group}). The default
21774 behavior of @code{nnmairix} is to do a mairix search every time you
21775 update or enter the group. With the @code{allow-fast} parameter set,
21776 mairix will only be called when you explicitly update the group, but not
21777 upon entering. This makes entering the group faster, but it may also
21778 lead to dangling symlinks if something changed between updating and
21779 entering the group which is not yet in the mairix database.
21782 @kindex G b p (Group)
21783 @findex nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group
21784 Toggle marks propagation for this group
21785 (@code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group}). (@pxref{Propagating
21789 @kindex G b o (Group)
21790 @findex nnmairix-propagate-marks
21791 Manually propagate marks (@code{nnmairix-propagate-marks}); needed only when
21792 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} is set to @code{nil}.
21801 @kindex $ m (Summary)
21802 @findex nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article
21803 Allows you to create a mairix query or group based on the current
21804 message using graphical widgets (same as @code{nnmairix-widget-search})
21805 (@code{nnmairix-widget-search-from-this-article}).
21808 @kindex $ g (Summary)
21809 @findex nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message
21810 Interactively creates a new search group with query based on the current
21811 message, but uses the minibuffer instead of graphical widgets
21812 (@code{nnmairix-create-search-group-from-message}).
21815 @kindex $ t (Summary)
21816 @findex nnmairix-search-thread-this-article
21817 Searches thread for the current article
21818 (@code{nnmairix-search-thread-this-article}). This is effectively a
21819 shortcut for calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{m:msgid} of the
21820 current article and enabled threads.
21823 @kindex $ f (Summary)
21824 @findex nnmairix-search-from-this-article
21825 Searches all messages from sender of the current article
21826 (@code{nnmairix-search-from-this-article}). This is a shortcut for
21827 calling @code{nnmairix-search} with @samp{f:From}.
21830 @kindex $ o (Summary)
21831 @findex nnmairix-goto-original-article
21832 (Only in @code{nnmairix} groups!) Tries determine the group this article
21833 originally came from and displays the article in this group, so that
21834 e.g. replying to this article the correct posting styles/group
21835 parameters are applied (@code{nnmairix-goto-original-article}). This
21836 function will use the registry if available, but can also parse the
21837 article file name as a fallback method.
21840 @kindex $ u (Summary)
21841 @findex nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article
21842 Remove possibly existing tick mark from original article
21843 (@code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article}). (@pxref{nnmairix
21848 @node Propagating marks
21849 @subsection Propagating marks
21851 First of: you really need a patched mairix binary for using the marks
21852 propagation feature efficiently. Otherwise, you would have to update
21853 the mairix database all the time. You can get the patch at
21855 @uref{http://www.randomsample.de/mairix-maildir-patch.tar}
21857 You need the mairix v0.21 source code for this patch; everything else
21858 is explained in the accompanied readme file. If you don't want to use
21859 marks propagation, you don't have to apply these patches, but they also
21860 fix some annoyances regarding changing maildir flags, so it might still
21863 With the patched mairix binary, you can use @code{nnmairix} as an
21864 alternative to mail splitting (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}). For
21865 example, instead of splitting all mails from @samp{david@@foobar.com}
21866 into a group, you can simply create a search group with the query
21867 @samp{f:david@@foobar.com}. This is actually what ``smart folders'' are
21868 all about: simply put everything in one mail folder and dynamically
21869 create searches instead of splitting. This is more flexible, since you
21870 can dynamically change your folders any time you want to. This also
21871 implies that you will usually read your mails in the @code{nnmairix}
21872 groups instead of your ``real'' mail groups.
21874 There is one problem, though: say you got a new mail from
21875 @samp{david@@foobar.com}; it will now show up in two groups, the
21876 ``real'' group (your INBOX, for example) and in the @code{nnmairix}
21877 search group (provided you have updated the mairix database). Now you
21878 enter the @code{nnmairix} group and read the mail. The mail will be
21879 marked as read, but only in the @code{nnmairix} group---in the ``real''
21880 mail group it will be still shown as unread.
21882 You could now catch up the mail group (@pxref{Group Data}), but this is
21883 tedious and error prone, since you may overlook mails you don't have
21884 created @code{nnmairix} groups for. Of course, you could first use
21885 @code{nnmairix-goto-original-article} (@pxref{nnmairix keyboard
21886 shortcuts}) and then read the mail in the original group, but that's
21887 even more cumbersome.
21889 Clearly, the easiest way would be if marks could somehow be
21890 automatically set for the original article. This is exactly what
21891 @emph{marks propagation} is about.
21893 Marks propagation is deactivated by default. You can activate it for a
21894 certain @code{nnmairix} group with
21895 @code{nnmairix-group-toggle-propmarks-this-group} (bound to @kbd{G b
21896 p}). This function will warn you if you try to use it with your default
21897 search group; the reason is that the default search group is used for
21898 temporary searches, and it's easy to accidentally propagate marks from
21899 this group. However, you can ignore this warning if you really want to.
21901 With marks propagation enabled, all the marks you set in a @code{nnmairix}
21902 group should now be propagated to the original article. For example,
21903 you can now tick an article (by default with @kbd{!}) and this mark should
21904 magically be set for the original article, too.
21906 A few more remarks which you may or may not want to know:
21908 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close
21909 Marks will not be set immediately, but only upon closing a group. This
21910 not only makes marks propagation faster, it also avoids problems with
21911 dangling symlinks when dealing with maildir files (since changing flags
21912 will change the file name). You can also control when to propagate marks
21913 via @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-upon-close} (see the doc-string for
21916 Obviously, @code{nnmairix} will have to look up the original group for every
21917 article you want to set marks for. If available, @code{nnmairix} will first use
21918 the registry for determining the original group. The registry is very
21919 fast, hence you should really, really enable the registry when using
21920 marks propagation. If you don't have to worry about RAM and disc space,
21921 set @code{gnus-registry-max-entries} to a large enough value; to be on
21922 the safe side, choose roughly the amount of mails you index with mairix.
21924 @vindex nnmairix-only-use-registry
21925 If you don't want to use the registry or the registry hasn't seen the
21926 original article yet, @code{nnmairix} will use an additional mairix
21927 search for determining the file name of the article. This, of course, is
21928 way slower than the registry---if you set hundreds or even thousands of
21929 marks this way, it might take some time. You can avoid this situation by
21930 setting @code{nnmairix-only-use-registry} to t.
21932 Maybe you also want to propagate marks the other way round, i.e. if you
21933 tick an article in a "real" mail group, you'd like to have the same
21934 article in a @code{nnmairix} group ticked, too. For several good
21935 reasons, this can only be done efficiently if you use maildir. To
21936 immediately contradict myself, let me mention that it WON'T work with
21937 @code{nnmaildir}, since @code{nnmaildir} stores the marks externally and
21938 not in the file name. Therefore, propagating marks to @code{nnmairix}
21939 groups will usually only work if you use an IMAP server which uses
21940 maildir as its file format.
21942 @vindex nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups
21943 If you work with this setup, just set
21944 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t} and see what
21945 happens. If you don't like what you see, just set it to @code{nil} again. One
21946 problem might be that you get a wrong number of unread articles; this
21947 usually happens when you delete or expire articles in the original
21948 groups. When this happens, you can recreate the @code{nnmairix} group on the
21949 back end using @kbd{G b d}.
21951 @node nnmairix tips and tricks
21952 @subsection nnmairix tips and tricks
21958 @findex nnmairix-update-groups
21959 I put all my important mail groups at group level 1. The mairix groups
21960 have group level 5, so they do not get checked at start up (@pxref{Group
21963 I use the following to check for mails:
21966 (defun my-check-mail-mairix-update (level)
21968 ;; if no prefix given, set level=1
21969 (gnus-group-get-new-news (or level 1))
21970 (nnmairix-update-groups "mairixsearch" t t)
21971 (gnus-group-list-groups))
21973 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map "g" 'my-check-mail-mairix-update)
21976 Instead of @samp{"mairixsearch"} use the name of your @code{nnmairix}
21977 server. See the doc string for @code{nnmairix-update-groups} for
21981 Example: search group for ticked articles
21983 For example, you can create a group for all ticked articles, where the
21984 articles always stay unread:
21986 Hit @kbd{G b g}, enter group name (e.g. @samp{important}), use
21987 @samp{F:f} as query and do not include threads.
21989 Now activate marks propagation for this group by using @kbd{G b p}. Then
21990 activate the always-unread feature by using @kbd{G b r} twice.
21992 So far so good---but how do you remove the tick marks in the @code{nnmairix}
21993 group? There are two options: You may simply use
21994 @code{nnmairix-remove-tick-mark-original-article} (bound to @kbd{$ u}) to remove
21995 tick marks from the original article. The other possibility is to set
21996 @code{nnmairix-propagate-marks-to-nnmairix-groups} to @code{t}, but see the above
21997 comments about this option. If it works for you, the tick marks should
21998 also exist in the @code{nnmairix} group and you can remove them as usual,
21999 e.g. by marking an article as read.
22001 When you have removed a tick mark from the original article, this
22002 article should vanish from the @code{nnmairix} group after you have updated the
22003 mairix database and updated the group. Fortunately, there is a function
22004 for doing exactly that: @code{nnmairix-update-groups}. See the previous code
22005 snippet and the doc string for details.
22008 Dealing with auto-subscription of mail groups
22010 As described before, all @code{nnmairix} groups are in fact stored on
22011 the mail back end in the form @samp{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can
22012 see them when you enter the back end server in the server buffer. You
22013 should not subscribe these groups! Unfortunately, these groups will
22014 usually get @emph{auto-subscribed} when you use @code{nnmaildir} or
22015 @code{nnml}, i.e. you will suddenly see groups of the form
22016 @samp{zz_mairix*} pop up in your group buffer. If this happens to you,
22017 simply kill these groups with C-k. For avoiding this, turn off
22018 auto-subscription completely by setting the variable
22019 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups} to @code{nil} (@pxref{Filtering New
22020 Groups}), or if you like to keep this feature use the following kludge
22021 for turning it off for all groups beginning with @samp{zz_}:
22024 (setq gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
22025 "^\\(nnml\\|nnfolder\\|nnmbox\\|nnmh\\|nnbabyl\\|nnmaildir\\).*:\\([^z]\\|z$\\|\\z[^z]\\|zz$\\|zz[^_]\\|zz_$\\).*")
22030 @node nnmairix caveats
22031 @subsection nnmairix caveats
22035 You can create a secondary @code{nnml} server just for nnmairix, but then
22036 you have to explicitly set the corresponding server variable
22037 @code{nnml-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}. Otherwise, new mail might get
22038 put into this secondary server (and would never show up again). Here's
22039 an example server definition:
22042 (nnml "mairix" (nnml-directory "mairix") (nnml-get-new-mail nil))
22045 (The @code{nnmaildir} back end also has a server variabe
22046 @code{get-new-mail}, but its default value is @code{nil}, so you don't
22047 have to explicitly set it if you use a @code{nnmaildir} server just for
22051 If you use the Gnus registry: don't use the registry with
22052 @code{nnmairix} groups (put them in
22053 @code{gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups}). Be @emph{extra careful} if
22054 you use @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}; mails which are
22055 split into @code{nnmairix} groups are usually gone for good as soon as
22056 you check the group for new mail (yes, it has happened to me...).
22059 Therefore: @emph{Never ever} put ``real'' mails into @code{nnmairix}
22060 groups (you shouldn't be able to, anyway).
22063 If you use the Gnus agent (@pxref{Gnus Unplugged}): don't agentize
22064 @code{nnmairix} groups (though I have no idea what happens if you do).
22067 mairix does only support us-ascii characters.
22070 @code{nnmairix} uses a rather brute force method to force Gnus to
22071 completely reread the group on the mail back end after mairix was
22072 called---it simply deletes and re-creates the group on the mail
22073 back end. So far, this has worked for me without any problems, and I
22074 don't see how @code{nnmairix} could delete other mail groups than its
22075 own, but anyway: you really should have a backup of your mail
22079 All necessary information is stored in the group parameters
22080 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). This has the advantage that no active file
22081 is needed, but also implies that when you kill a @code{nnmairix} group,
22082 it is gone for good.
22085 @findex nnmairix-purge-old-groups
22086 If you create and kill a lot of @code{nnmairix} groups, the
22087 ``zz_mairix-*'' groups will accumulate on the mail back end server. To
22088 delete old groups which are no longer needed, call
22089 @code{nnmairix-purge-old-groups}. Note that this assumes that you don't
22090 save any ``real'' mail in folders of the form
22091 @code{zz_mairix-<NAME>-<NUMBER>}. You can change the prefix of
22092 @code{nnmairix} groups by changing the variable
22093 @code{nnmairix-group-prefix}.
22096 The following only applies if you @emph{don't} use the mentioned patch
22097 for mairix (@pxref{Propagating marks}):
22099 A problem can occur when using @code{nnmairix} with maildir folders and
22100 comes with the fact that maildir stores mail flags like @samp{Seen} or
22101 @samp{Replied} by appending chars @samp{S} and @samp{R} to the message
22102 file name, respectively. This implies that currently you would have to
22103 update the mairix database not only when new mail arrives, but also when
22104 mail flags are changing. The same applies to new mails which are indexed
22105 while they are still in the @samp{new} folder but then get moved to
22106 @samp{cur} when Gnus has seen the mail. If you don't update the database
22107 after this has happened, a mairix query can lead to symlinks pointing to
22108 non-existing files. In Gnus, these messages will usually appear with
22109 ``(none)'' entries in the header and can't be accessed. If this happens
22110 to you, using @kbd{G b u} and updating the group will usually fix this.
22117 @include message.texi
22118 @chapter Emacs MIME
22119 @include emacs-mime.texi
22121 @include sieve.texi
22133 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
22134 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
22135 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
22136 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
22137 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
22138 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
22139 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
22140 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
22141 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
22142 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
22143 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
22144 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
22145 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
22146 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
22147 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
22148 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
22149 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
22150 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
22151 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
22152 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
22153 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
22157 @node Process/Prefix
22158 @section Process/Prefix
22159 @cindex process/prefix convention
22161 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
22162 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
22164 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
22165 command to be performed on.
22169 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
22170 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
22171 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
22172 with the current one.
22174 @vindex transient-mark-mode
22175 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
22176 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
22178 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
22179 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
22182 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
22183 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
22185 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
22188 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
22189 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
22190 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
22191 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
22193 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
22194 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
22195 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
22196 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
22197 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
22198 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
22199 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
22200 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
22202 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
22203 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
22204 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
22205 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
22206 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
22210 @section Interactive
22211 @cindex interaction
22215 @item gnus-novice-user
22216 @vindex gnus-novice-user
22217 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
22218 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
22219 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
22220 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
22223 @item gnus-expert-user
22224 @vindex gnus-expert-user
22225 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
22226 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing,
22227 no matter how strange. For example, quitting Gnus, exiting a group
22228 without an update, catching up with a group, deleting expired
22229 articles, and replying by mail to a news message will not require
22232 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
22233 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
22234 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
22235 is @code{t} by default.
22237 @item gnus-interactive-exit
22238 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
22239 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
22244 @node Symbolic Prefixes
22245 @section Symbolic Prefixes
22246 @cindex symbolic prefixes
22248 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
22249 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
22250 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
22251 rule of 900 to the current article.
22253 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
22254 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
22255 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
22256 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
22257 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
22258 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
22259 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
22261 @kindex M-i (Summary)
22262 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
22263 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
22264 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
22265 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
22266 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
22267 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
22268 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
22269 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
22271 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
22272 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
22273 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
22275 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
22279 @node Formatting Variables
22280 @section Formatting Variables
22281 @cindex formatting variables
22283 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
22284 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
22285 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
22286 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
22287 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
22290 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
22291 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
22292 lots of percentages everywhere.
22295 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
22296 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
22297 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
22298 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
22299 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
22300 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
22301 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
22302 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
22305 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
22306 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
22307 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
22308 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
22309 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
22310 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
22311 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
22312 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
22314 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
22315 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
22317 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
22318 @findex gnus-update-format
22319 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
22320 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
22321 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
22322 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
22326 @node Formatting Basics
22327 @subsection Formatting Basics
22329 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
22330 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
22331 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
22333 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
22334 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
22335 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
22336 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
22337 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
22340 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
22341 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
22342 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
22343 less than 4 characters wide.
22345 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
22346 @samp{%&user-date;}.
22349 @node Mode Line Formatting
22350 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
22352 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
22353 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
22354 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
22355 with the following two differences:
22360 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
22363 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
22364 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
22365 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
22366 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
22367 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
22368 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
22369 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
22374 @node Advanced Formatting
22375 @subsection Advanced Formatting
22377 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
22378 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
22379 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
22380 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
22382 These are the valid modifiers:
22387 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
22391 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
22396 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
22399 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
22404 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
22407 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
22410 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
22413 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
22419 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
22424 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
22425 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
22426 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
22427 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
22428 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
22429 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
22430 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
22432 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
22433 last operation, padding.
22435 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
22436 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
22437 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
22438 @xref{Compilation}.
22441 @node User-Defined Specs
22442 @subsection User-Defined Specs
22444 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
22445 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
22446 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
22447 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
22448 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
22449 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
22450 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
22451 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
22452 should protect against that.
22454 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
22455 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
22457 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
22458 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
22459 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
22460 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
22464 @node Formatting Fonts
22465 @subsection Formatting Fonts
22468 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
22469 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
22470 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
22471 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
22472 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
22476 @vindex gnus-face-0
22477 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
22478 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
22479 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
22480 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
22481 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
22482 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
22484 @cindex %<<, %>>, guillemets
22485 @c @cindex %<<, %>>, %«, %», guillemets
22486 @vindex gnus-balloon-face-0
22487 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
22488 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
22489 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
22490 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
22491 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
22492 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
22493 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
22494 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
22495 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
22496 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
22497 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
22500 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
22503 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
22504 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
22505 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
22507 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
22508 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
22509 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
22510 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
22511 ;; @r{Set the color.}
22512 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
22513 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
22515 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
22516 (setq gnus-group-line-format
22517 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
22520 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
22521 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
22523 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
22524 mode-line variables.
22526 @node Positioning Point
22527 @subsection Positioning Point
22529 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
22530 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
22531 line. You can customize this behavior in three different ways.
22533 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
22535 @findex gnus-goto-colon
22536 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
22537 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
22539 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
22540 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
22541 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
22546 @subsection Tabulation
22548 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
22549 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
22550 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
22551 about lining up the following text afterwards.
22553 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
22554 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
22556 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22557 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
22558 This is the soft tabulator.
22560 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
22561 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
22562 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
22565 @node Wide Characters
22566 @subsection Wide Characters
22568 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
22569 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
22570 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
22572 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
22573 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
22574 these countries, that's not true.
22576 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
22577 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
22578 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
22579 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
22583 @node Window Layout
22584 @section Window Layout
22585 @cindex window layout
22587 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
22589 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
22590 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
22591 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
22592 @code{t} by default.
22594 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
22595 glitches. Use at your own peril.
22597 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
22598 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
22599 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
22602 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)))
22603 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22607 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
22608 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
22609 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
22610 possible names is listed below.
22612 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
22613 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
22616 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
22620 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
22621 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
22622 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
22623 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
22624 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
22625 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
22626 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
22627 size spec per split.
22629 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
22630 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
22631 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
22632 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
22633 present) gets focus.
22635 Here's a more complicated example:
22638 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
22639 (summary 0.25 point)
22643 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
22644 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
22645 occupy, not a percentage.
22647 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
22648 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
22649 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
22650 be used as a split.
22652 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
22655 (article (horizontal 1.0
22659 (summary 0.25 point)
22663 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
22664 @code{horizontal} thingie?
22666 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
22667 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
22668 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
22669 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
22670 the screen is to be given to this strip.
22672 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
22673 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
22674 lines from the splits.
22676 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
22681 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
22682 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
22683 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
22684 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
22685 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
22686 size = number | frame-params
22687 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
22691 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
22692 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
22693 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
22694 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
22696 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
22697 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
22698 @cindex window height
22699 @cindex window width
22700 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
22701 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
22702 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
22703 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
22704 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
22705 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
22707 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
22708 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
22709 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
22710 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
22712 @findex gnus-configure-frame
22713 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
22714 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
22715 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
22716 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
22717 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
22718 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
22719 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
22720 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
22721 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
22722 configuration list.
22725 (gnus-configure-frame
22729 (article 0.3 point))
22737 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
22738 @code{frame} split:
22741 (gnus-configure-frame
22744 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
22746 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
22747 (user-position . t)
22748 (left . -1) (top . 1))
22753 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
22754 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
22755 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
22756 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
22757 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
22758 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
22759 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
22760 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
22762 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
22763 be found in its default value.
22765 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
22766 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
22767 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
22771 (message (horizontal 1.0
22772 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
22774 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
22779 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
22780 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
22781 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
22786 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
22787 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
22788 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
22789 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
22790 (name . "Message"))
22791 (message 1.0 point))))
22794 @findex gnus-add-configuration
22795 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
22796 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
22797 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
22798 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
22801 (gnus-add-configuration
22802 '(article (vertical 1.0
22804 (summary .25 point)
22808 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
22809 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
22810 Gnus has been loaded.
22812 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
22813 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
22814 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
22815 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
22816 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
22818 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
22819 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
22820 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
22823 @subsection Example Window Configurations
22827 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
22828 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
22843 (gnus-add-configuration
22846 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22848 (summary 0.16 point)
22851 (gnus-add-configuration
22854 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
22855 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
22861 @node Faces and Fonts
22862 @section Faces and Fonts
22867 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
22868 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
22869 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
22874 @section Compilation
22875 @cindex compilation
22876 @cindex byte-compilation
22878 @findex gnus-compile
22880 Remember all those line format specification variables?
22881 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
22882 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
22883 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
22884 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
22885 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
22888 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
22889 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
22890 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
22891 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
22892 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
22893 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
22894 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
22898 @section Mode Lines
22901 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
22902 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
22903 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
22904 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
22905 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
22906 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
22907 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
22910 @cindex display-time
22912 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
22913 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
22914 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
22915 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
22916 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
22917 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
22918 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
22919 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
22922 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
22924 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
22925 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
22927 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
22928 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
22929 (length display-time-string)))))
22932 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
22933 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
22934 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
22935 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
22936 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
22939 @node Highlighting and Menus
22940 @section Highlighting and Menus
22942 @cindex highlighting
22945 @vindex gnus-visual
22946 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
22947 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
22948 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
22951 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
22952 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
22955 @item group-highlight
22956 Do highlights in the group buffer.
22957 @item summary-highlight
22958 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
22959 @item article-highlight
22960 Do highlights in the article buffer.
22962 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
22964 Create menus in the group buffer.
22966 Create menus in the summary buffers.
22968 Create menus in the article buffer.
22970 Create menus in the browse buffer.
22972 Create menus in the server buffer.
22974 Create menus in the score buffers.
22976 Create menus in all buffers.
22979 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
22980 buffers, you could say something like:
22983 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
22986 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
22989 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
22992 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
22993 in all Gnus buffers.
22995 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
22998 @item gnus-mouse-face
22999 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
23000 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
23001 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
23005 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
23009 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
23010 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
23011 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
23013 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
23014 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
23015 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
23017 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
23018 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
23019 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
23021 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
23022 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
23023 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
23025 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
23026 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
23027 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
23029 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
23030 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
23031 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
23041 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
23042 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
23043 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
23044 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
23045 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
23047 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
23048 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
23049 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
23051 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
23052 been idle for thirty minutes:
23055 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
23058 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
23062 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
23065 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
23066 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
23067 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23069 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
23070 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
23071 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
23072 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
23074 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
23075 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
23076 @var{idle} minutes.
23078 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
23079 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
23082 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
23083 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
23084 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
23086 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
23087 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
23088 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
23089 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
23091 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
23092 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23094 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
23096 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
23099 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
23100 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
23101 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
23102 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
23103 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
23104 @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
23105 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
23106 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
23107 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
23108 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
23110 @findex gnus-demon-init
23111 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
23112 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
23113 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
23114 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
23115 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
23117 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
23118 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
23119 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
23127 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
23128 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
23129 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
23131 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
23132 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
23133 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
23134 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
23135 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
23136 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
23137 @code{undo} function.
23139 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
23140 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
23141 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
23142 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
23143 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
23144 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
23145 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
23146 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
23147 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
23148 never be totally undoable.
23150 @findex gnus-undo-mode
23151 @vindex gnus-use-undo
23153 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
23154 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
23155 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
23156 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
23160 @node Predicate Specifiers
23161 @section Predicate Specifiers
23162 @cindex predicate specifiers
23164 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
23165 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
23166 to type all that much.
23168 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
23173 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
23174 gnus-article-unread-p)
23177 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
23178 functions all take one parameter.
23180 @findex gnus-make-predicate
23181 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
23182 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
23183 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
23188 @section Moderation
23191 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
23192 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
23193 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
23196 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
23200 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
23203 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
23205 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
23210 You split your incoming mail by matching on
23211 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
23212 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
23215 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
23216 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
23219 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
23220 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
23224 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
23227 (setq gnus-moderated-list
23228 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
23232 @node Fetching a Group
23233 @section Fetching a Group
23234 @cindex fetching a group
23236 @findex gnus-fetch-group
23237 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
23238 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
23239 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
23240 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
23241 It takes the group name as a parameter.
23244 @node Image Enhancements
23245 @section Image Enhancements
23247 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
23248 support images, Emacs 22 does.} and up, are able to display pictures and
23249 stuff, so Gnus has taken advantage of that.
23252 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
23253 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
23254 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
23255 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
23256 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
23257 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
23265 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
23266 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
23267 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
23271 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
23272 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
23273 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
23281 Viewing an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
23282 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions have), or that you
23283 have suitable conversion or display programs installed. If your Emacs
23284 has image support the default action is to display the face before the
23285 @code{From} header. If there's no native @code{X-Face} support, Gnus
23286 will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using external programs
23287 from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends, see below. For XEmacs it's
23288 faster if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support. The
23289 default action under Emacs without image support is to fork off the
23290 @code{display} program.
23292 On a GNU/Linux system, the @code{display} program is included in the
23293 ImageMagick package. For external conversion programs look for packages
23294 with names like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.
23295 On Windows, you may use the packages @code{netpbm} and @code{compface}
23296 from @url{http://gnuwin32.sourceforge.net}. You need to add the
23297 @code{bin} directory to your @code{PATH} environment variable.
23298 @c In fact only the following DLLs and binaries seem to be required:
23299 @c compface1.dll uncompface.exe libnetpbm10.dll icontopbm.exe
23301 The variable @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} controls which programs
23302 are used to display the @code{X-Face} header. If this variable is a
23303 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
23304 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
23305 If @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches the
23306 @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
23308 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
23316 @vindex gnus-x-face
23317 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
23318 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
23319 default colors are black and white.
23321 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
23322 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
23323 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
23324 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
23325 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
23326 XEmacs. Here are examples:
23329 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
23330 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23331 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
23332 (png . (:ascent 80))))
23334 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
23335 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
23336 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
23337 (png . (:relief -2))))
23340 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
23341 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
23342 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
23343 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
23344 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
23345 @samp{libcompface} library.
23348 If you use posting styles, you can use an @code{x-face-file} entry in
23349 @code{gnus-posting-styles}, @xref{Posting Styles}. If you don't, Gnus
23350 provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow easier
23351 insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages. You also need the
23352 above mentioned ImageMagick, netpbm or other image conversion packages
23353 (depending the values of the variables below) for these functions.
23355 @findex gnus-random-x-face
23356 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
23357 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
23358 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
23359 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
23360 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
23361 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
23362 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
23363 header data as a string.
23365 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
23366 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
23367 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
23368 randomly generated data.
23370 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
23371 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
23372 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
23373 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
23374 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
23376 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
23377 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23380 (setq message-required-news-headers
23381 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23382 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
23385 Using the last function would be something like this:
23388 (setq message-required-news-headers
23389 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23390 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
23391 (gnus-x-face-from-file
23392 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
23400 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces' implementations should really be harmonized.
23402 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
23403 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
23404 represent the author of the message.
23407 @findex gnus-article-display-face
23408 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
23409 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
23412 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
23413 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
23415 Viewing an @code{Face} header requires an Emacs that is able to display
23418 @c (if (featurep 'xemacs)
23420 @c (image-type-available-p 'png))
23422 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
23423 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
23425 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
23426 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
23427 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
23429 @findex gnus-face-from-file
23430 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
23431 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
23432 converts the file to Face format by using the
23433 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
23435 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
23436 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23439 (setq message-required-news-headers
23440 (nconc message-required-news-headers
23441 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
23442 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
23447 @subsection Smileys
23452 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
23457 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
23458 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
23460 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
23461 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
23464 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
23467 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
23468 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
23469 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
23470 text and maps that to file names.
23472 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
23473 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
23474 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
23475 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
23476 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
23479 The following variables customize the appearance of the smileys:
23484 @vindex smiley-style
23485 Specifies the smiley style. Predefined smiley styles include
23486 @code{low-color} (small 13x14 pixel, three-color images), @code{medium}
23487 (more colorful images, 16x16 pixel), and @code{grayscale} (grayscale
23488 images, 14x14 pixel). The default depends on the height of the default
23491 @item smiley-data-directory
23492 @vindex smiley-data-directory
23493 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files. You shouldn't set this
23494 variable anymore. Customize @code{smiley-style} instead.
23496 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
23497 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
23498 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
23512 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
23513 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
23514 over your shoulder as you read news.
23516 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
23525 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
23526 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
23527 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
23528 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
23529 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
23530 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
23531 @code{GIF} formats.
23534 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23535 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
23536 point your Web browser at
23537 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
23539 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
23540 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
23542 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
23543 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
23546 @vindex gnus-picon-style
23547 The variable @code{gnus-picon-style} controls how picons are displayed.
23548 If @code{inline}, the textual representation is replaced. If
23549 @code{right}, picons are added right to the textual representation.
23551 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
23555 @item gnus-picon-databases
23556 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
23557 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
23558 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
23559 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
23560 "/usr/local/faces")}.
23562 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
23563 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
23564 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23565 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
23567 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
23568 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
23569 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
23570 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
23572 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
23573 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
23574 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
23575 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
23576 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
23578 @item gnus-picon-file-types
23579 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
23580 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
23581 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
23583 @item gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23584 @vindex gnus-picon-inhibit-top-level-domains
23585 If non-@code{nil} (which is the default), don't display picons for
23586 things like @samp{.net} and @samp{.de}, which aren't usually very
23592 @subsection Gravatars
23596 \include{gravatars}
23600 A gravatar is an image registered to an e-mail address.
23602 You can submit yours on-line at @uref{http://www.gravatar.com}.
23604 The following variables offer control over how things are displayed.
23608 @item gnus-gravatar-size
23609 @vindex gnus-gravatar-size
23610 The size in pixels of gravatars. Gravatars are always square, so one
23611 number for the size is enough.
23613 @item gnus-gravatar-properties
23614 @vindex gnus-gravatar-properties
23615 List of image properties applied to Gravatar images.
23617 @item gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23618 @vindex gnus-gravatar-too-ugly
23619 Regexp that matches mail addresses or names of people of which avatars
23620 should not be displayed, or @code{nil}. It default to the value of
23621 @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (@pxref{X-Face}).
23625 If you want to see them in the From field, set:
23627 (setq gnus-treat-from-gravatar 'head)
23630 If you want to see them in the Cc and To fields, set:
23633 (setq gnus-treat-mail-gravatar 'head)
23638 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
23641 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23642 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
23643 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
23644 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
23645 unusual directory structure.
23647 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23648 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
23649 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
23654 @subsubsection Toolbar
23658 @item gnus-use-toolbar
23659 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
23660 This variable specifies the position to display the toolbar. If
23661 @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If it is non-@code{nil}, it should
23662 be one of the symbols @code{default}, @code{top}, @code{bottom},
23663 @code{right}, and @code{left}. @code{default} means to use the default
23664 toolbar, the rest mean to display the toolbar on the place which those
23665 names show. The default is @code{default}.
23667 @item gnus-toolbar-thickness
23668 @vindex gnus-toolbar-thickness
23669 Cons of the height and the width specifying the thickness of a toolbar.
23670 The height is used for the toolbar displayed on the top or the bottom,
23671 the width is used for the toolbar displayed on the right or the left.
23672 The default is that of the default toolbar.
23674 @item gnus-group-toolbar
23675 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
23676 The toolbar in the group buffer.
23678 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
23679 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
23680 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
23682 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23683 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
23684 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
23695 @node Fuzzy Matching
23696 @section Fuzzy Matching
23697 @cindex fuzzy matching
23699 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
23700 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
23702 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
23703 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
23704 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
23706 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
23707 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
23708 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
23709 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
23710 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
23713 @node Thwarting Email Spam
23714 @section Thwarting Email Spam
23718 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23720 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
23721 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
23722 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
23723 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
23724 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
23725 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
23726 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
23727 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
23730 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
23731 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
23732 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
23733 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
23734 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
23735 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
23737 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
23740 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
23741 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
23742 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
23743 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
23746 @node The problem of spam
23747 @subsection The problem of spam
23749 @cindex spam filtering approaches
23750 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
23752 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23754 First, some background on spam.
23756 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
23757 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
23758 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
23759 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
23760 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
23761 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
23762 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
23763 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
23764 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
23766 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
23767 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
23768 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
23769 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
23770 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
23771 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
23772 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
23773 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
23774 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
23777 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
23778 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
23779 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
23780 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
23781 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
23782 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
23783 from Bulgarian IPs.
23785 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
23786 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
23787 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
23788 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
23790 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
23791 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
23792 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
23793 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
23795 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
23796 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
23797 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
23798 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
23799 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
23800 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
23801 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
23802 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
23803 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
23805 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
23806 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
23807 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
23808 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
23809 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
23810 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
23811 down for some time because of the incident.
23813 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
23814 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
23815 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
23816 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
23817 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
23818 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
23819 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
23820 to store the database of spam analysis. Statistical analysis on the
23821 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
23822 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
23823 the server that it has misclassified mail.
23825 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
23826 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
23827 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
23828 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
23829 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
23830 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
23831 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
23834 @node Anti-Spam Basics
23835 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
23839 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
23841 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
23842 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
23844 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
23845 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
23846 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
23847 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
23848 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
23849 part of the mail address.)
23852 (setq message-default-news-headers
23853 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
23856 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
23857 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23861 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
23862 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
23863 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
23868 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
23869 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
23870 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
23871 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
23873 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
23874 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
23875 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
23876 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
23877 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
23878 your fancy split rule in this way:
23883 (to "larsi" "misc")
23887 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
23888 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
23889 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
23890 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
23891 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
23893 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
23894 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
23895 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
23896 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
23898 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
23902 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
23903 @cindex SpamAssassin
23904 @cindex Vipul's Razor
23907 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
23908 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
23909 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
23910 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
23911 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
23912 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
23913 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
23915 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
23916 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
23917 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
23920 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
23921 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
23922 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
23923 Specifiers}) follow.
23927 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
23931 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
23934 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
23935 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
23936 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
23939 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
23943 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
23946 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
23947 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
23951 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
23952 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
23953 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
23954 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
23957 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
23959 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
23963 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
23964 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
23968 Note that with the nnimap back end, message bodies will not be
23969 downloaded by default. You need to set
23970 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
23971 (@pxref{Client-Side IMAP Splitting}).
23973 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
23974 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
23975 spam. And here is the nifty function:
23978 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
23979 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
23981 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d" t)
23982 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
23986 @subsection Hashcash
23989 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
23990 costly and demonstrably unique for each message they send. This has
23991 the obvious drawback that you cannot rely on everyone in the world
23992 using this technique, since it is not part of the Internet standards,
23993 but it may be useful in smaller communities.
23995 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
23996 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
23997 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
23998 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
23999 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
24000 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
24001 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
24002 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
24003 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
24004 one of them separately.
24007 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
24008 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
24009 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:} header.
24010 For more details, and for the external application @code{hashcash} you
24011 need to install to use this feature, see
24012 @uref{http://www.hashcash.org/}. Even more information can be found
24013 at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
24015 If you wish to generate hashcash for each message you send, you can
24016 customize @code{message-generate-hashcash} (@pxref{Mail Headers, ,Mail
24017 Headers,message, The Message Manual}), as in:
24020 (setq message-generate-hashcash t)
24023 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
24027 @item hashcash-default-payment
24028 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
24029 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
24030 should consist of. By default this is 20. Suggested useful values
24033 @item hashcash-payment-alist
24034 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
24035 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
24036 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
24037 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
24038 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
24039 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
24040 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
24041 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
24043 @item hashcash-path
24044 @vindex hashcash-path
24045 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed. This variable should
24046 be automatically set by @code{executable-find}, but if it's @code{nil}
24047 (usually because the @code{hashcash} binary is not in your path)
24048 you'll get a warning when you check hashcash payments and an error
24049 when you generate hashcash payments.
24053 Gnus can verify hashcash cookies, although this can also be done by
24054 hand customized mail filtering scripts. To verify a hashcash cookie
24055 in a message, use the @code{mail-check-payment} function in the
24056 @code{hashcash.el} library. You can also use the @code{spam.el}
24057 package with the @code{spam-use-hashcash} back end to validate hashcash
24058 cookies in incoming mail and filter mail accordingly (@pxref{Anti-spam
24059 Hashcash Payments}).
24062 @section Spam Package
24063 @cindex spam filtering
24066 The Spam package provides Gnus with a centralized mechanism for
24067 detecting and filtering spam. It filters new mail, and processes
24068 messages according to whether they are spam or ham. (@dfn{Ham} is the
24069 name used throughout this manual to indicate non-spam messages.)
24072 * Spam Package Introduction::
24073 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
24074 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
24075 * Spam and Ham Processors::
24076 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
24078 * Extending the Spam package::
24079 * Spam Statistics Package::
24082 @node Spam Package Introduction
24083 @subsection Spam Package Introduction
24084 @cindex spam filtering
24085 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
24088 You must read this section to understand how the Spam package works.
24089 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
24091 Make sure you read the section on the @code{spam.el} sequence of
24092 events. See @xref{Extending the Spam package}.
24094 @cindex spam-initialize
24095 @vindex spam-use-stat
24096 To use the Spam package, you @strong{must} first run the function
24097 @code{spam-initialize}:
24103 This autoloads @code{spam.el} and installs the various hooks necessary
24104 to let the Spam package do its job. In order to make use of the Spam
24105 package, you have to set up certain group parameters and variables,
24106 which we will describe below. All of the variables controlling the
24107 Spam package can be found in the @samp{spam} customization group.
24109 There are two ``contact points'' between the Spam package and the rest
24110 of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and leaving a group.
24112 Checking new mail for spam is done in one of two ways: while splitting
24113 incoming mail, or when you enter a group.
24115 The first way, checking for spam while splitting incoming mail, is
24116 suited to mail back ends such as @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap}, where
24117 new mail appears in a single spool file. The Spam package processes
24118 incoming mail, and sends mail considered to be spam to a designated
24119 ``spam'' group. @xref{Filtering Incoming Mail}.
24121 The second way is suited to back ends such as @code{nntp}, which have
24122 no incoming mail spool, or back ends where the server is in charge of
24123 splitting incoming mail. In this case, when you enter a Gnus group,
24124 the unseen or unread messages in that group are checked for spam.
24125 Detected spam messages are marked as spam. @xref{Detecting Spam in
24128 @cindex spam back ends
24129 In either case, you have to tell the Spam package what method to use
24130 to detect spam messages. There are several methods, or @dfn{spam back
24131 ends} (not to be confused with Gnus back ends!) to choose from: spam
24132 ``blacklists'' and ``whitelists'', dictionary-based filters, and so
24133 forth. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24135 In the Gnus summary buffer, messages that have been identified as spam
24136 always appear with a @samp{$} symbol.
24138 The Spam package divides Gnus groups into three categories: ham
24139 groups, spam groups, and unclassified groups. You should mark each of
24140 the groups you subscribe to as either a ham group or a spam group,
24141 using the @code{spam-contents} group parameter (@pxref{Group
24142 Parameters}). Spam groups have a special property: when you enter a
24143 spam group, all unseen articles are marked as spam. Thus, mail split
24144 into a spam group is automatically marked as spam.
24146 Identifying spam messages is only half of the Spam package's job. The
24147 second half comes into play whenever you exit a group buffer. At this
24148 point, the Spam package does several things:
24150 First, it calls @dfn{spam and ham processors} to process the articles
24151 according to whether they are spam or ham. There is a pair of spam
24152 and ham processors associated with each spam back end, and what the
24153 processors do depends on the back end. At present, the main role of
24154 spam and ham processors is for dictionary-based spam filters: they add
24155 the contents of the messages in the group to the filter's dictionary,
24156 to improve its ability to detect future spam. The @code{spam-process}
24157 group parameter specifies what spam processors to use. @xref{Spam and
24160 If the spam filter failed to mark a spam message, you can mark it
24161 yourself, so that the message is processed as spam when you exit the
24169 @kindex $ (Summary)
24170 @kindex M-d (Summary)
24171 @kindex S x (Summary)
24172 @kindex M s x (Summary)
24173 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24174 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
24175 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark
24176 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}).
24180 Similarly, you can unmark an article if it has been erroneously marked
24181 as spam. @xref{Setting Marks}.
24183 Normally, a ham message found in a non-ham group is not processed as
24184 ham---the rationale is that it should be moved into a ham group for
24185 further processing (see below). However, you can force these articles
24186 to be processed as ham by setting
24187 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
24188 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups}.
24190 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24191 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24192 The second thing that the Spam package does when you exit a group is
24193 to move ham articles out of spam groups, and spam articles out of ham
24194 groups. Ham in a spam group is moved to the group specified by the
24195 variable @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}, or the group parameter
24196 @code{ham-process-destination}. Spam in a ham group is moved to the
24197 group specified by the variable @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations},
24198 or the group parameter @code{spam-process-destination}. If these
24199 variables are not set, the articles are left in their current group.
24200 If an article cannot be moved (e.g., with a read-only backend such
24201 as @acronym{NNTP}), it is copied.
24203 If an article is moved to another group, it is processed again when
24204 you visit the new group. Normally, this is not a problem, but if you
24205 want each article to be processed only once, load the
24206 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and set the variable
24207 @code{spam-log-to-registry} to @code{t}. @xref{Spam Package
24208 Configuration Examples}.
24210 Normally, spam groups ignore @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations}.
24211 However, if you set @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only} to
24212 @code{nil}, spam will also be moved out of spam groups, depending on
24213 the @code{spam-process-destination} parameter.
24215 The final thing the Spam package does is to mark spam articles as
24216 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
24218 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
24219 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
24220 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
24222 @node Filtering Incoming Mail
24223 @subsection Filtering Incoming Mail
24224 @cindex spam filtering
24225 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
24228 To use the Spam package to filter incoming mail, you must first set up
24229 fancy mail splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}. The Spam package
24230 defines a special splitting function that you can add to your fancy
24231 split variable (either @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
24232 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on your mail back end):
24238 @vindex spam-split-group
24240 The @code{spam-split} function scans incoming mail according to your
24241 chosen spam back end(s), and sends messages identified as spam to a
24242 spam group. By default, the spam group is a group named @samp{spam},
24243 but you can change this by customizing @code{spam-split-group}. Make
24244 sure the contents of @code{spam-split-group} are an unqualified group
24245 name. For instance, in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server},
24246 the value @samp{spam} means @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The value
24247 @samp{nnimap+server:spam} is therefore wrong---it gives the group
24248 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam}.
24250 @code{spam-split} does not modify the contents of messages in any way.
24252 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
24253 Note for IMAP users: if you use the @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
24254 @code{spam-check-ifile}, and @code{spam-check-stat} spam back ends,
24255 you should also set the variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to
24256 @code{t}. These spam back ends are most useful when they can ``scan''
24257 the full message body. By default, the nnimap back end only retrieves
24258 the message headers; @code{nnimap-split-download-body} tells it to
24259 retrieve the message bodies as well. We don't set this by default
24260 because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and that is not an
24261 appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user. @xref{Client-Side
24264 You have to specify one or more spam back ends for @code{spam-split}
24265 to use, by setting the @code{spam-use-*} variables. @xref{Spam Back
24266 Ends}. Normally, @code{spam-split} simply uses all the spam back ends
24267 you enabled in this way. However, you can tell @code{spam-split} to
24268 use only some of them. Why this is useful? Suppose you are using the
24269 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and @code{spam-use-blackholes} spam back
24270 ends, and the following split rule:
24273 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24274 (any "ding" "ding")
24276 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24281 The problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the ding
24282 folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam detected by
24283 SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through, when it's
24284 sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to the ding
24285 list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the invocation
24286 of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
24288 The solution is to let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, and
24289 perform the other @code{spam-split} rules (including a second
24290 invocation of the regex-headers check) after the ding rule. This is
24291 done by passing a parameter to @code{spam-split}:
24296 ;; @r{spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
24297 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24298 (any "ding" "ding")
24299 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
24301 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24306 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
24307 your particular needs, and target the results of those checks to a
24308 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
24309 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
24310 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
24311 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
24312 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
24314 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24315 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24316 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24317 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. @xref{Spam Back Ends}.
24319 @c @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
24320 @c statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
24323 @node Detecting Spam in Groups
24324 @subsection Detecting Spam in Groups
24326 To detect spam when visiting a group, set the group's
24327 @code{spam-autodetect} and @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group
24328 parameters. These are accessible with @kbd{G c} or @kbd{G p}, as
24329 usual (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
24331 You should set the @code{spam-use-*} variables for whatever spam back
24332 ends you intend to use. The reason is that when loading
24333 @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done depending on what
24334 @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set.
24336 By default, only unseen articles are processed for spam. You can
24337 force Gnus to recheck all messages in the group by setting the
24338 variable @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages} to @code{t}.
24340 If you use the @code{spam-autodetect} method of checking for spam, you
24341 can specify different spam detection methods for different groups.
24342 For instance, the @samp{ding} group may have @code{spam-use-BBDB} as
24343 the autodetection method, while the @samp{suspect} group may have the
24344 @code{spam-use-blacklist} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods
24345 enabled. Unlike with @code{spam-split}, you don't have any control
24346 over the @emph{sequence} of checks, but this is probably unimportant.
24348 @node Spam and Ham Processors
24349 @subsection Spam and Ham Processors
24350 @cindex spam filtering
24351 @cindex spam filtering variables
24352 @cindex spam variables
24355 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
24356 Spam and ham processors specify special actions to take when you exit
24357 a group buffer. Spam processors act on spam messages, and ham
24358 processors on ham messages. At present, the main role of these
24359 processors is to update the dictionaries of dictionary-based spam back
24360 ends such as Bogofilter (@pxref{Bogofilter}) and the Spam Statistics
24361 package (@pxref{Spam Statistics Filtering}).
24363 The spam and ham processors that apply to each group are determined by
24364 the group's@code{spam-process} group parameter. If this group
24365 parameter is not defined, they are determined by the variable
24366 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups}.
24368 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24369 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
24370 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
24371 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
24372 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
24373 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
24374 by customizing the corresponding variable
24375 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
24376 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
24377 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
24378 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
24379 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
24380 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
24381 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
24384 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
24386 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
24387 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
24388 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
24389 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
24390 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
24391 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
24392 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
24393 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
24394 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
24395 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
24396 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
24397 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
24398 processor which will study them as spam samples.
24400 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
24401 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
24402 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
24403 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
24404 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
24405 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
24406 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
24407 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
24410 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24411 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
24412 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
24413 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
24414 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
24415 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
24416 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
24421 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
24422 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
24423 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
24424 you really want to.
24427 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
24428 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
24429 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
24430 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
24431 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
24432 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
24435 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
24436 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
24437 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
24438 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
24439 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
24440 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
24441 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
24442 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
24443 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
24444 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
24445 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
24446 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
24447 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
24448 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
24449 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
24451 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24452 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24454 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24455 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
24456 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
24458 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
24459 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
24461 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
24462 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
24463 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
24464 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
24465 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
24467 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
24468 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
24469 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
24470 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
24471 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
24474 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
24475 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
24476 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
24477 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
24478 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
24479 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
24480 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
24481 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
24482 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
24483 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
24484 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
24485 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
24486 group buffer then you need it here as well.
24488 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only back end such as
24489 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
24491 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
24492 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
24495 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
24496 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
24497 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
24498 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
24499 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
24500 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
24501 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
24503 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
24504 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
24505 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
24506 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
24508 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
24509 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
24510 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
24511 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
24512 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
24513 from the mail server.
24515 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
24516 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
24517 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
24518 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
24520 @node Spam Package Configuration Examples
24521 @subsection Spam Package Configuration Examples
24522 @cindex spam filtering
24523 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
24524 @cindex spam configuration examples
24527 @subsubheading Ted's setup
24529 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
24531 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
24532 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
24533 (gnus-registry-initialize)
24537 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
24539 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
24540 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
24541 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
24542 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24543 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
24544 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
24545 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
24546 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
24547 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
24548 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
24549 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
24550 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
24551 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
24552 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
24553 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
24554 (any "ding" "ding")
24555 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
24557 ;; @r{default mailbox}
24560 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
24562 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
24563 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
24564 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
24565 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
24567 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24569 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
24570 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
24571 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
24572 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
24573 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
24575 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
24576 ((spam-autodetect . t))
24578 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
24580 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
24581 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
24583 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
24584 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
24585 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
24587 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
24589 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
24590 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
24592 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
24593 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
24594 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
24596 (gnus-ticked-mark))
24597 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
24598 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
24599 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
24601 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
24602 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
24603 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
24607 @subsubheading Using @code{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
24608 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24610 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
24611 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
24612 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
24613 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
24614 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
24615 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
24616 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
24617 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
24618 @samp{training.spam} folders.
24620 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
24621 does most of the job for me:
24624 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
24625 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
24626 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
24627 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
24628 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
24629 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
24630 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
24635 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
24637 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
24638 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
24639 bogofilter or DCC).
24641 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
24642 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
24643 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark
24644 (@code{ham-marks}, @ref{Spam and Ham Processors}). On group exit,
24645 those messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want
24646 to have the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter)
24647 and deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
24649 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
24650 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
24651 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
24652 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
24653 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
24654 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
24656 @item @b{Ham folders:}
24658 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
24659 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
24660 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
24661 @samp{training.spam}.
24664 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
24666 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
24668 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
24669 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
24670 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
24674 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
24677 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
24678 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
24679 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
24680 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
24681 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
24683 @node Spam Back Ends
24684 @subsection Spam Back Ends
24685 @cindex spam back ends
24687 The spam package offers a variety of back ends for detecting spam.
24688 Each back end defines a set of methods for detecting spam
24689 (@pxref{Filtering Incoming Mail}, @pxref{Detecting Spam in Groups}),
24690 and a pair of spam and ham processors (@pxref{Spam and Ham
24694 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
24695 * BBDB Whitelists::
24696 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
24697 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
24699 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
24701 * SpamAssassin back end::
24702 * ifile spam filtering::
24703 * Spam Statistics Filtering::
24707 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
24708 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
24709 @cindex spam filtering
24710 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
24711 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
24714 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
24716 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
24717 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
24718 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
24719 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
24724 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
24726 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
24727 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
24728 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24729 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
24730 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24734 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
24736 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
24737 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24738 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
24742 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
24744 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24745 customizing the group parameters or the
24746 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24747 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24748 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
24752 Instead of the obsolete
24753 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
24754 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
24755 the same way, we promise.
24759 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
24761 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24762 customizing the group parameters or the
24763 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24764 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24765 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24770 Instead of the obsolete
24771 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
24772 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
24773 the same way, we promise.
24777 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
24778 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
24779 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
24780 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
24781 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
24783 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
24784 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
24785 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
24786 Emacs regular expression syntax.
24788 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
24789 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
24790 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
24791 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
24792 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
24793 @file{blacklist} respectively.
24795 @node BBDB Whitelists
24796 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
24797 @cindex spam filtering
24798 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
24799 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
24802 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
24804 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24805 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
24806 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
24807 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
24808 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
24809 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
24810 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24814 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
24816 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
24817 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
24818 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
24819 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
24820 classified as spammers.
24822 While @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} @emph{can} be used as an alias
24823 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} as far as @code{spam.el} is concerned, it is
24824 @emph{not} a separate back end. If you set
24825 @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} to t, @emph{all} your BBDB splitting
24830 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
24832 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24833 customizing the group parameters or the
24834 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24835 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
24836 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
24841 Instead of the obsolete
24842 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
24843 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
24844 the same way, we promise.
24848 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
24849 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
24850 @cindex spam reporting
24851 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24852 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
24855 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
24857 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
24858 customizing the group parameters or the
24859 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
24860 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
24861 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
24864 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
24868 Instead of the obsolete
24869 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
24870 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
24871 same way, we promise.
24875 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
24877 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
24878 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
24879 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
24880 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
24881 @code{spam-report.el} will fetch the number from the article headers.
24885 @defvar spam-report-user-mail-address
24887 Mail address exposed in the User-Agent spam reports to Gmane. It allows
24888 the Gmane administrators to contact you in case of misreports. The
24889 default is @code{user-mail-address}.
24893 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24894 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
24895 @cindex spam filtering
24896 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
24899 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
24901 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
24902 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
24903 instead of the sender address. Messages without a hashcash payment
24904 token will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an explicit
24905 filter, meaning that unless a hashcash token is found, the messages
24906 are not assumed to be spam or ham.
24911 @subsubsection Blackholes
24912 @cindex spam filtering
24913 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
24916 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
24918 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
24919 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
24920 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
24921 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
24922 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
24923 contains outdated servers.
24925 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
24926 @code{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
24927 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
24928 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
24929 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
24930 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
24934 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
24936 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
24940 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
24942 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
24943 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
24947 @defvar spam-use-dig
24949 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
24950 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
24954 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
24955 ham processor for blackholes.
24957 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
24958 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
24959 @cindex spam filtering
24960 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
24963 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
24965 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
24966 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
24967 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
24968 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
24969 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
24970 message is spam or ham, respectively.
24974 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
24976 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24977 the message, positively identify it as spam.
24981 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
24983 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
24984 the message, positively identify it as ham.
24988 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
24989 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
24992 @subsubsection Bogofilter
24993 @cindex spam filtering
24994 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
24997 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
24999 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25002 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
25003 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
25004 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
25005 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
25006 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
25007 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
25009 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
25010 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
25013 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
25014 processing will be turned off.
25016 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
25025 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
25026 Get the Bogofilter spamicity score (@code{spam-bogofilter-score}).
25029 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
25031 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
25032 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
25033 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
25034 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
25035 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
25036 installation documents for details.
25038 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
25042 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
25043 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25044 customizing the group parameters or the
25045 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25046 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
25047 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
25051 Instead of the obsolete
25052 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25053 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25054 the same way, we promise.
25057 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
25058 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25059 customizing the group parameters or the
25060 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25061 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25062 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
25063 of non-spam messages.
25067 Instead of the obsolete
25068 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
25069 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
25070 the same way, we promise.
25073 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
25075 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
25076 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
25077 database directory.
25081 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
25082 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25083 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
25084 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
25085 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
25086 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
25088 @node SpamAssassin back end
25089 @subsubsection SpamAssassin back end
25090 @cindex spam filtering
25091 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
25094 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
25096 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
25098 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
25099 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
25100 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
25101 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
25104 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
25105 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
25106 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
25107 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
25110 You should not enable this if you use
25111 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
25115 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
25117 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
25118 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
25120 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
25124 @defvar spam-spamassassin-program
25126 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
25127 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
25128 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
25129 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
25133 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
25134 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
25135 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
25136 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
25137 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
25138 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
25139 to test this functionality.
25141 @node ifile spam filtering
25142 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
25143 @cindex spam filtering
25144 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
25147 @defvar spam-use-ifile
25149 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
25150 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
25154 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
25156 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
25157 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
25158 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
25162 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
25164 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
25165 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
25166 the default value of @samp{spam}.
25169 @defvar spam-ifile-database
25171 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
25172 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
25176 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
25177 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
25178 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
25179 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
25182 @node Spam Statistics Filtering
25183 @subsubsection Spam Statistics Filtering
25184 @cindex spam filtering
25185 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
25189 This back end uses the Spam Statistics Emacs Lisp package to perform
25190 statistics-based filtering (@pxref{Spam Statistics Package}). Before
25191 using this, you may want to perform some additional steps to
25192 initialize your Spam Statistics dictionary. @xref{Creating a
25193 spam-stat dictionary}.
25195 @defvar spam-use-stat
25199 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
25200 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25201 customizing the group parameters or the
25202 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25203 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
25204 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
25208 Instead of the obsolete
25209 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25210 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25211 the same way, we promise.
25214 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
25215 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25216 customizing the group parameters or the
25217 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
25218 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
25219 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
25220 of non-spam messages.
25224 Instead of the obsolete
25225 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
25226 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
25227 the same way, we promise.
25230 This enables @code{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
25231 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
25232 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
25233 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
25234 @code{spam-split} are provided.
25237 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
25238 @cindex spam filtering
25242 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
25243 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
25244 installed separately.
25246 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
25247 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
25248 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
25249 mail as a spam mail or not.
25251 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
25252 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
25253 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
25255 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Spam Package})
25258 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
25259 To enable SpamOracle usage by @code{spam.el}, set the variable
25260 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
25261 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}. @xref{Spam
25262 Package}. In this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is
25263 filtered using SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be
25264 moved to @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham
25265 messages stay in @samp{INBOX}:
25268 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
25269 spam-split-group "Junk"
25270 ;; @r{for nnimap you'll probably want to set nnimap-split-methods, see the manual}
25271 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
25272 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
25275 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
25276 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
25280 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
25281 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
25282 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
25286 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
25287 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
25288 store its analysis. This is controlled by the variable
25289 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
25290 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
25291 database to live somewhere special, set
25292 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
25295 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
25296 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
25297 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns
25298 the characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
25299 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
25300 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary
25301 buffer and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using
25302 @file{spam.el}'s spam- and ham-processors, which is much more
25303 convenient. For a detailed description of spam- and ham-processors,
25304 @xref{Spam Package}.
25306 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
25307 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25308 customizing the group parameter or the
25309 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25310 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
25311 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
25315 Instead of the obsolete
25316 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25317 that you use @code{(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25318 the same way, we promise.
25321 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
25322 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
25323 customizing the group parameter or the
25324 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
25325 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
25326 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
25331 Instead of the obsolete
25332 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
25333 that you use @code{(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
25334 the same way, we promise.
25337 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
25338 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
25341 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
25342 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
25343 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
25345 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
25346 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
25347 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
25348 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
25349 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
25350 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
25352 @node Extending the Spam package
25353 @subsection Extending the Spam package
25354 @cindex spam filtering
25355 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
25356 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
25358 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
25359 incoming mail, provide the following:
25367 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
25368 "True if blackbox should be used.")
25371 Write @code{spam-check-blackbox} if Blackbox can check incoming mail.
25373 Write @code{spam-blackbox-register-routine} and
25374 @code{spam-blackbox-unregister-routine} using the bogofilter
25375 register/unregister routines as a start, or other restister/unregister
25376 routines more appropriate to Blackbox, if Blackbox can
25377 register/unregister spam and ham.
25382 The @code{spam-check-blackbox} function should return @samp{nil} or
25383 @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other conventions. See the
25384 existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for examples of what you can
25385 do, and stick to the template unless you fully understand the reasons
25390 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
25397 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
25398 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
25400 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
25401 variables. Instead the form @code{(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
25402 @code{(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
25403 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
25406 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
25407 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
25408 Only applicable to spam groups.")
25410 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
25411 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
25412 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
25421 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
25422 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
25424 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
25425 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
25426 variable customization.
25430 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
25432 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
25433 @code{gnus.el} if Blackbox can check incoming mail for spam contents.
25435 Finally, use the appropriate @code{spam-install-*-backend} function in
25436 @code{spam.el}. Here are the available functions.
25442 @code{spam-install-backend-alias}
25444 This function will simply install an alias for a back end that does
25445 everything like the original back end. It is currently only used to
25446 make @code{spam-use-BBDB-exclusive} act like @code{spam-use-BBDB}.
25449 @code{spam-install-nocheck-backend}
25451 This function installs a back end that has no check function, but can
25452 register/unregister ham or spam. The @code{spam-use-gmane} back end is
25456 @code{spam-install-checkonly-backend}
25458 This function will install a back end that can only check incoming mail
25459 for spam contents. It can't register or unregister messages.
25460 @code{spam-use-blackholes} and @code{spam-use-hashcash} are such
25464 @code{spam-install-statistical-checkonly-backend}
25466 This function installs a statistical back end (one which requires the
25467 full body of a message to check it) that can only check incoming mail
25468 for contents. @code{spam-use-regex-body} is such a filter.
25471 @code{spam-install-statistical-backend}
25473 This function install a statistical back end with incoming checks and
25474 registration/unregistration routines. @code{spam-use-bogofilter} is
25478 @code{spam-install-backend}
25480 This is the most normal back end installation, where a back end that can
25481 check and register/unregister messages is set up without statistical
25482 abilities. The @code{spam-use-BBDB} is such a back end.
25485 @code{spam-install-mover-backend}
25487 Mover back ends are internal to @code{spam.el} and specifically move
25488 articles around when the summary is exited. You will very probably
25489 never install such a back end.
25494 @node Spam Statistics Package
25495 @subsection Spam Statistics Package
25496 @cindex Paul Graham
25497 @cindex Graham, Paul
25498 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
25499 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
25500 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
25502 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
25503 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
25504 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
25505 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
25506 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
25507 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
25508 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
25509 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
25510 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
25513 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
25514 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
25515 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
25516 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
25517 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
25518 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
25519 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
25520 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
25522 The Spam Statistics package adds support to Gnus for this kind of
25523 filtering. It can be used as one of the back ends of the Spam package
25524 (@pxref{Spam Package}), or by itself.
25526 Before using the Spam Statistics package, you need to set it up.
25527 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
25528 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
25529 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
25530 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
25533 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
25534 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
25535 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
25538 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25539 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
25541 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
25542 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
25543 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
25544 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
25545 need several hundred emails in both collections.
25547 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
25548 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
25549 per mail. Use the following:
25551 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
25552 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
25553 is treated as one spam mail.
25556 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
25557 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
25558 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
25561 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
25562 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds to
25563 the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
25564 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
25565 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds to the group
25566 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
25568 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
25569 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
25570 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
25571 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
25572 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
25575 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
25576 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
25577 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
25578 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
25581 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
25582 reset the dictionary.
25584 @defun spam-stat-reset
25585 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
25588 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
25589 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
25590 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
25591 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
25592 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
25593 only non-spam mails.
25595 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
25596 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
25597 to update the dictionary incrementally.
25600 @defun spam-stat-save
25601 Save the dictionary.
25604 @defvar spam-stat-file
25605 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
25606 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
25609 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
25610 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
25612 This section describes how to use the Spam statistics
25613 @emph{independently} of the @xref{Spam Package}.
25615 First, add the following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25618 (require 'spam-stat)
25622 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
25625 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
25626 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
25627 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
25628 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
25630 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
25631 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
25632 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
25633 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
25636 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25637 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25641 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
25642 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
25645 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
25646 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
25647 expression are considered potential spam.
25650 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25651 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25652 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25656 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
25657 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
25658 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
25659 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
25660 mails, when creating the dictionary!
25663 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25664 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25665 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25669 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
25670 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
25671 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
25672 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
25673 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
25677 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
25678 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
25679 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
25680 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
25685 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25686 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
25688 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
25690 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
25691 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
25692 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25695 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
25696 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
25697 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
25700 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
25701 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
25702 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
25703 already been processed as non-spam.
25706 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
25707 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
25708 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
25709 been processed as spam.
25712 @defun spam-stat-save
25713 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
25714 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25717 @defun spam-stat-load
25718 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
25719 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
25722 @defun spam-stat-score-word
25723 Return the spam score for a word.
25726 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
25727 Return the spam score for a buffer.
25730 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
25731 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
25732 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
25735 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
25736 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
25739 (require 'spam-stat)
25743 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
25746 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25747 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25748 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25749 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25750 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25751 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25752 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25753 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25754 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25755 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25756 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
25757 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
25758 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25759 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25762 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
25765 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
25766 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
25767 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
25768 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
25769 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
25770 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
25773 @node The Gnus Registry
25774 @section The Gnus Registry
25779 The Gnus registry is a package that tracks messages by their
25780 Message-ID across all backends. This allows Gnus users to do several
25781 cool things, be the envy of the locals, get free haircuts, and be
25782 experts on world issues. Well, maybe not all of those, but the
25783 features are pretty cool.
25785 Although they will be explained in detail shortly, here's a quick list
25786 of said features in case your attention span is... never mind.
25790 Split messages to their parent
25792 This keeps discussions in the same group. You can use the subject and
25793 the sender in addition to the Message-ID. Several strategies are
25797 Refer to messages by ID
25799 Commands like @code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article} can take
25800 advantage of the registry to jump to the referred article, regardless
25801 of the group the message is in.
25804 Store custom flags and keywords
25806 The registry can store custom flags and keywords for a message. For
25807 instance, you can mark a message ``To-Do'' this way and the flag will
25808 persist whether the message is in the nnimap, nnml, nnmaildir,
25812 Store arbitrary data
25814 Through a simple ELisp API, the registry can remember any data for a
25815 message. A built-in inverse map, when activated, allows quick lookups
25816 of all messages matching a particular set of criteria.
25821 * Fancy splitting to parent::
25822 * Registry Article Refer Method::
25823 * Store custom flags and keywords::
25824 * Store arbitrary data::
25830 Fortunately, setting up the Gnus registry is pretty easy:
25833 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500
25834 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t)
25836 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25839 This adds registry saves to Gnus newsrc saves (which happen on exit
25840 and when you press @kbd{s} from the @code{*Group*} buffer. It also
25841 adds registry calls to article actions in Gnus (copy, move, etc.) so
25842 it's not easy to undo the initialization. See
25843 @code{gnus-registry-initialize} for the gory details.
25845 Here are other settings used by the author of the registry (understand
25846 what they do before you copy them blindly).
25850 gnus-registry-split-strategy 'majority
25851 gnus-registry-ignored-groups '(("nntp" t)
25855 gnus-registry-max-entries 500000
25856 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t
25857 gnus-registry-track-extra '(sender subject))
25860 They say: keep a lot of messages around, use long group names, track
25861 messages by sender and subject (not just parent Message-ID), and when
25862 the registry splits incoming mail, use a majority rule to decide where
25863 messages should go if there's more than one possibility. In addition,
25864 the registry should ignore messages in groups that match ``nntp'',
25865 ``nnrss'', ``spam'', or ``train.''
25867 You are doubtless impressed by all this, but you ask: ``I am a Gnus
25868 user, I customize to live. Give me more.'' Here you go, these are
25869 the general settings.
25871 @defvar gnus-registry-unfollowed-groups
25872 The groups that will not be followed by
25873 @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent}. They will still be
25874 remembered by the registry. This is a list of regular expressions.
25877 @defvar gnus-registry-ignored-groups
25878 The groups that will not be remembered by the registry. This is a
25879 list of regular expressions, also available through Group/Topic
25880 customization (so you can ignore or keep a specific group or a whole
25884 @defvar gnus-registry-use-long-group-names
25885 Whether the registry will use long group names. It's recommended to
25886 set this to @code{t}, although everything works if you don't. Future
25887 functionality will require it.
25890 @defvar gnus-registry-max-entries
25891 The number (an integer or @code{nil} for unlimited) of entries the
25892 registry will keep.
25895 @defvar gnus-registry-cache-file
25896 The file where the registry will be stored between Gnus sessions.
25899 @node Registry Article Refer Method
25900 @subsection Fetching by @code{Message-ID} Using the Registry
25902 The registry knows how to map each @code{Message-ID} to the group it's
25903 in. This can be leveraged to enhance the ``article refer method'',
25904 the thing that tells Gnus how to look up an article given its
25905 Message-ID (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25908 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
25910 The @code{nnregistry} refer method does exactly that. It has the
25911 advantage that an article may be found regardless of the group it's
25912 in---provided its @code{Message-ID} is known to the registry. It can
25913 be enabled by augmenting the start-up file with something along these
25917 ;; Keep enough entries to have a good hit rate when referring to an
25918 ;; article using the registry. Use long group names so that Gnus
25919 ;; knows where the article is.
25920 (setq gnus-registry-max-entries 2500
25921 gnus-registry-use-long-group-names t)
25923 (gnus-registry-initialize)
25925 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
25928 (nnweb "gmane" (nnweb-type gmane))))
25931 The example above instructs Gnus to first look up the article in the
25932 current group, or, alternatively, using the registry, and finally, if
25933 all else fails, using Gmane.
25935 @node Fancy splitting to parent
25936 @subsection Fancy splitting to parent
25938 Simply put, this lets you put followup e-mail where it belongs.
25940 Every message has a Message-ID, which is unique, and the registry
25941 remembers it. When the message is moved or copied, the registry will
25942 notice this and offer the new group as a choice to the splitting
25945 When a followup is made, usually it mentions the original message's
25946 Message-ID in the headers. The registry knows this and uses that
25947 mention to find the group where the original message lives. You only
25948 have to put a rule like this:
25951 (setq nnimap-my-split-fancy '(|
25953 ;; split to parent: you need this
25954 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
25956 ;; other rules, as an example
25962 in your fancy split setup. In addition, you may want to customize the
25963 following variables.
25965 @defvar gnus-registry-track-extra
25966 This is a list of symbols, so it's best to change it from the
25967 Customize interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to
25968 track @code{subject} and @code{sender} as well when splitting by parent.
25969 It may work for you. It can be annoying if your mail flow is large and
25970 people don't stick to the same groups.
25973 @defvar gnus-registry-split-strategy
25974 This is a symbol, so it's best to change it from the Customize
25975 interface. By default it's @code{nil}, but you may want to set it to
25976 @code{majority} or @code{first} to split by sender or subject based on
25977 the majority of matches or on the first found.
25980 @node Store custom flags and keywords
25981 @subsection Store custom flags and keywords
25983 The registry lets you set custom flags and keywords per message. You
25984 can use the Gnus->Registry Marks menu or the @kbd{M M x} keyboard
25985 shortcuts, where @code{x} is the first letter of the mark's name.
25987 @defvar gnus-registry-marks
25988 The custom marks that the registry can use. You can modify the
25989 default list, if you like. If you do, you'll have to exit Emacs
25990 before they take effect (you can also unload the registry and reload
25991 it or evaluate the specific macros you'll need, but you probably don't
25992 want to bother). Use the Customize interface to modify the list.
25994 By default this list has the @code{Important}, @code{Work},
25995 @code{Personal}, @code{To-Do}, and @code{Later} marks. They all have
25996 keyboard shortcuts like @kbd{M M i} for Important, using the first
26000 @defun gnus-registry-mark-article
26001 Call this function to mark an article with a custom registry mark. It
26002 will offer the available marks for completion.
26005 @node Store arbitrary data
26006 @subsection Store arbitrary data
26008 The registry has a simple API that uses a Message-ID as the key to
26009 store arbitrary data (as long as it can be converted to a list for
26012 @defun gnus-registry-store-extra-entry (id key value)
26013 Store @code{value} in the extra data key @code{key} for message
26017 @defun gnus-registry-delete-extra-entry (id key)
26018 Delete the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26021 @defun gnus-registry-fetch-extra (id key)
26022 Get the extra data key @code{key} for message @code{id}.
26025 @defvar gnus-registry-extra-entries-precious
26026 If any extra entries are precious, their presence will make the
26027 registry keep the whole entry forever, even if there are no groups for
26028 the Message-ID and if the size limit of the registry is reached. By
26029 default this is just @code{(marks)} so the custom registry marks are
26034 @section Interaction with other modes
26039 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provides some useful functions for dired
26040 buffers. It is enabled with
26042 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
26047 @findex gnus-dired-attach
26048 @cindex attachments, selection via dired
26049 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
26050 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
26053 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
26054 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
26055 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
26059 @findex gnus-dired-print
26060 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
26061 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
26064 @node Various Various
26065 @section Various Various
26071 @item gnus-home-directory
26072 @vindex gnus-home-directory
26073 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
26074 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
26076 @item gnus-directory
26077 @vindex gnus-directory
26078 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
26079 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
26080 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
26082 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
26083 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
26084 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
26085 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
26087 @item gnus-default-directory
26088 @vindex gnus-default-directory
26089 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
26090 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
26091 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
26092 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
26093 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
26094 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
26097 @vindex gnus-verbose
26098 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
26099 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
26100 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
26101 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
26102 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
26104 @item gnus-verbose-backends
26105 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
26106 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
26107 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
26109 @item gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26110 @vindex gnus-add-timestamp-to-message
26111 This variable controls whether to add timestamps to messages that are
26112 controlled by @code{gnus-verbose} and @code{gnus-verbose-backends} and
26113 are issued. The default value is @code{nil} which means never to add
26114 timestamp. If it is @code{log}, add timestamps to only the messages
26115 that go into the @samp{*Messages*} buffer (in XEmacs, it is the
26116 @w{@samp{ *Message-Log*}} buffer). If it is neither @code{nil} nor
26117 @code{log}, add timestamps not only to log messages but also to the ones
26118 displayed in the echo area.
26120 @item nnheader-max-head-length
26121 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
26122 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
26123 as little as possible. This variable (default 8192) specifies
26124 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
26125 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
26126 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
26127 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
26128 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
26129 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
26131 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
26132 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
26133 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
26134 read when doing the operation described above.
26136 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26137 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26139 @cindex invalid characters in file names
26140 @cindex characters in file names
26141 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
26142 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
26143 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
26147 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
26152 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
26153 Windows (phooey) systems.
26155 @item gnus-hidden-properties
26156 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
26157 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
26158 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
26159 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
26161 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
26162 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
26163 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
26164 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
26165 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
26167 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
26168 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
26169 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
26171 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26172 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
26174 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
26175 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
26176 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
26177 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
26180 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
26182 @item gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26183 @vindex gnus-safe-html-newsgroups
26184 Groups in which links in html articles are considered all safe. The
26185 value may be a regexp matching those groups, a list of group names, or
26186 @code{nil}. This overrides @code{mm-w3m-safe-url-regexp}. The default
26187 value is @code{"\\`nnrss[+:]"}. This is effective only when emacs-w3m
26188 renders html articles, i.e., in the case @code{mm-text-html-renderer} is
26189 set to @code{w3m}. @xref{Display Customization, ,Display Customization,
26190 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}.
26197 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
26198 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
26200 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
26202 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
26208 Not because of victories @*
26211 but for the common sunshine,@*
26213 the largess of the spring.
26217 but for the day's work done@*
26218 as well as I was able;@*
26219 not for a seat upon the dais@*
26220 but at the common table.@*
26225 @chapter Appendices
26228 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
26229 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
26230 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
26231 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
26232 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
26233 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
26234 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
26235 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
26236 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
26243 @cindex installing under XEmacs
26245 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
26246 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
26247 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
26248 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
26249 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{W3},
26250 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
26257 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
26258 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
26260 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
26261 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
26262 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
26263 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
26264 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
26266 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
26267 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
26268 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
26269 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
26270 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
26271 appropriate name, don't you think?)
26273 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
26274 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
26275 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
26276 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
26279 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
26280 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
26281 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
26282 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
26283 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
26284 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
26285 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
26286 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
26287 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
26291 @node Gnus Versions
26292 @subsection Gnus Versions
26294 @cindex September Gnus
26296 @cindex Quassia Gnus
26297 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
26300 @cindex Gnus versions
26302 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
26303 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
26304 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
26306 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
26307 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
26309 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
26310 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
26312 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
26313 It was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
26315 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
26316 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
26319 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun and was released as
26320 Gnus 5.10 on May 1st 2003 (24 releases).
26322 On the January 4th 2004, No Gnus was begun.
26324 On April 19, 2010 Gnus development was moved to Git. See
26325 http://git.gnus.org for details (http://www.gnus.org will be updated
26326 with the information when possible).
26328 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
26329 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
26330 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'', ``No Gnus'' -- don't panic.
26331 Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever
26332 you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach.
26333 Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
26336 @node Other Gnus Versions
26337 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
26340 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
26341 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
26342 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
26343 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
26345 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
26346 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
26347 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
26348 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
26355 What's the point of Gnus?
26357 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
26358 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
26359 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
26360 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
26361 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
26362 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
26363 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
26364 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
26365 keep track of millions of people who post?
26367 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
26368 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
26369 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
26370 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
26371 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
26372 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
26373 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
26374 every one of you to explore and invent.
26376 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
26377 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
26380 @node Compatibility
26381 @subsection Compatibility
26383 @cindex compatibility
26384 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
26385 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
26386 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
26391 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
26395 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
26398 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
26401 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
26402 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
26403 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
26404 important variables have their values copied into their global
26405 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
26406 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
26408 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
26409 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
26410 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
26411 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
26412 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
26416 @cindex highlighting
26417 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
26418 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
26419 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
26420 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
26421 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
26422 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
26425 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
26426 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
26427 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
26428 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
26430 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
26431 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
26432 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
26433 to stop doing it the old way.
26435 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
26437 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26439 @cindex reporting bugs
26441 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
26442 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
26443 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
26445 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
26446 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
26447 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
26448 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
26453 @subsection Conformity
26455 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
26456 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
26464 There are no known breaches of this standard.
26468 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
26470 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
26471 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
26472 We do have some breaches to this one.
26478 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
26479 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
26480 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
26481 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
26482 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
26487 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
26488 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
26489 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
26490 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
26492 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
26493 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
26494 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
26496 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
26497 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
26499 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
26502 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
26503 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
26504 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
26505 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
26506 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
26509 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
26510 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
26511 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RFC 1991/2440 format.
26512 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
26514 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
26515 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
26517 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
26518 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
26519 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
26520 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
26521 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
26522 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
26523 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
26524 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
26528 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
26529 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
26534 @subsection Emacsen
26540 This version of Gnus should work on:
26548 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
26552 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
26553 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
26554 Emacs versions. Particularly, Gnus 5.10.8 should also work on Emacs
26555 20.7 and XEmacs 21.1.
26557 @c No-merge comment: The paragraph added in v5-10 here must not be
26560 @node Gnus Development
26561 @subsection Gnus Development
26563 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
26564 discussion on the development mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}, where people
26565 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
26566 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
26567 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
26568 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
26569 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
26570 have names like ``Oort Gnus'' and ``No Gnus''. @xref{Gnus Versions}.
26572 After futzing around for 10-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
26573 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
26574 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.10.1'' instead. Normal people are
26575 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
26576 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup. This newgroup is mirrored to the
26577 mailing list @samp{info-gnus-english@@gnu.org} which is carried on Gmane
26578 as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.user}. These releases are finally integrated
26582 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26583 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26584 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26585 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26586 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26588 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
26589 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
26590 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
26591 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
26592 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
26593 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
26594 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
26595 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
26596 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
26597 can't be assumed to do so.
26599 So if you have problems with or questions about the alpha versions,
26600 direct those to the ding mailing list @samp{ding@@gnus.org}. This list
26601 is also available on Gmane as @samp{gmane.emacs.gnus.general}.
26604 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
26605 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae,
26606 in particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming}. This is to prevent
26607 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
26608 @xref{Mail Source Customization}.
26611 @subsection Contributors
26612 @cindex contributors
26614 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
26615 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
26616 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
26617 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
26618 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
26619 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
26620 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
26621 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
26622 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
26623 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
26625 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
26631 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
26634 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el,
26635 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
26636 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
26637 functionality and stuff.
26640 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
26641 well as numerous other things).
26644 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
26647 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
26650 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
26653 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
26656 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
26657 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
26660 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
26663 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
26666 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
26669 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
26672 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
26675 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
26678 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
26679 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
26682 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
26685 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
26688 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
26691 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
26695 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
26698 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
26701 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
26704 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
26705 well as autoconf support.
26709 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
26710 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
26712 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
26727 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
26729 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
26733 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
26743 Alexei V. Barantsev,
26758 Massimo Campostrini,
26763 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
26764 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
26768 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
26771 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
26777 Michael Welsh Duggan,
26782 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
26786 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
26794 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
26796 Michelangelo Grigni,
26800 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
26802 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
26804 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
26812 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
26813 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
26814 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
26816 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
26826 Peter Skov Knudsen,
26827 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
26829 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
26830 Thor Kristoffersen,
26833 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
26851 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
26852 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
26859 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
26864 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
26868 John McClary Prevost,
26874 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
26879 Christian von Roques,
26882 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
26889 Philippe Schnoebelen,
26891 Randal L. Schwartz,
26905 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
26910 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
26930 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
26931 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
26932 (550kB and counting).
26934 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
26937 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
26938 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
26942 @subsection New Features
26943 @cindex new features
26946 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
26947 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
26948 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
26949 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
26950 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
26951 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
26952 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
26955 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
26956 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
26957 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
26960 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
26962 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
26967 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
26968 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
26971 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
26972 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
26975 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
26978 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
26979 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
26980 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
26983 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
26984 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
26985 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
26986 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
26989 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
26990 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
26993 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
26994 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
26995 (@pxref{The Active File}).
26998 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
26999 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
27002 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
27003 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
27004 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27007 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
27008 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
27009 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
27012 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
27013 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
27016 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
27017 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
27020 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
27021 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27024 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
27025 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
27028 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
27029 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27032 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
27035 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
27036 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
27039 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
27040 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
27043 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
27044 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
27047 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
27050 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
27051 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27054 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
27058 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
27062 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
27063 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
27068 @node September Gnus
27069 @subsubsection September Gnus
27073 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
27077 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
27082 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
27083 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
27087 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
27088 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
27092 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
27096 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
27097 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
27100 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
27104 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
27107 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
27110 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
27113 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
27117 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
27118 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
27121 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
27125 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
27129 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
27133 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
27137 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
27140 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
27141 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
27144 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
27148 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
27149 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
27152 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
27155 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
27156 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
27157 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
27160 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets.
27163 The Gnus cache is much faster.
27166 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
27170 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
27171 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
27174 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
27175 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
27178 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
27179 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
27182 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
27183 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
27184 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
27187 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
27188 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
27191 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
27194 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27197 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
27200 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
27203 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
27204 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
27207 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
27211 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
27214 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
27219 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
27222 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
27226 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
27229 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
27232 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
27233 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
27236 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
27237 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
27241 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
27242 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
27245 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
27249 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
27250 buffer to allow easier treatment.
27253 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
27256 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
27260 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
27264 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
27265 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
27268 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
27272 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
27273 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
27276 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
27277 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27280 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
27284 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
27287 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
27290 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
27296 @subsubsection Red Gnus
27298 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
27302 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
27309 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
27312 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
27313 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
27316 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
27317 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
27321 Article washing status can be displayed in the
27322 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
27325 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
27328 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
27329 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
27332 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
27336 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
27337 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
27341 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
27342 Server Internals}).
27345 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
27349 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
27352 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
27353 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
27356 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
27357 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
27358 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
27361 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
27362 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27365 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
27366 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
27369 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
27373 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
27374 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27377 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
27378 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
27381 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
27385 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
27388 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
27392 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
27393 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
27396 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
27397 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
27400 A new command for reading collections of documents
27401 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
27402 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
27405 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
27409 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
27410 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
27413 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
27414 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
27415 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
27418 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
27419 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
27423 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
27427 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
27431 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
27436 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
27440 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
27444 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
27445 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
27448 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
27454 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
27456 New features in Gnus 5.6:
27461 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
27462 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
27463 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
27466 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
27467 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
27468 group, which is created automatically.
27471 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
27475 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
27478 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
27479 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
27482 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
27486 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
27489 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
27490 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
27493 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
27496 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
27500 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
27501 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
27504 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
27505 control over simplification.
27508 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
27511 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
27515 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
27518 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
27521 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
27522 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
27523 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
27526 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
27527 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
27530 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
27534 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
27535 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
27538 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
27539 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
27542 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
27546 A history of where mails have been split is available.
27549 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
27552 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
27553 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
27556 A new function for citing in Message has been
27557 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
27560 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
27563 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
27567 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
27568 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
27571 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
27572 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
27575 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
27578 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
27582 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
27583 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
27585 New features in Gnus 5.8:
27590 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
27591 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
27593 If you used procmail like in
27596 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
27597 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
27598 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
27599 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
27602 this now has changed to
27606 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
27610 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
27613 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
27614 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
27617 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
27618 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
27621 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
27622 called to position point.
27625 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
27626 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
27629 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
27630 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
27633 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
27634 subtly different manner.
27637 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
27638 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
27639 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
27642 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
27647 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
27650 New features in Gnus 5.10:
27654 @item Installation changes
27655 @c ***********************
27659 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
27661 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
27662 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
27663 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
27664 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
27665 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
27666 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
27667 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
27668 isn't save in general.
27671 Lisp files are now installed in @file{.../site-lisp/gnus/} by default.
27672 It defaulted to @file{.../site-lisp/} formerly. In addition to this,
27673 the new installer issues a warning if other Gnus installations which
27674 will shadow the latest one are detected. You can then remove those
27675 shadows manually or remove them using @code{make
27676 remove-installed-shadows}.
27679 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
27681 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
27682 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
27683 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, if you want
27684 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
27685 the second parameter.
27687 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
27688 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
27689 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
27690 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
27691 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
27692 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
27693 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
27694 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
27695 cycle used under Unix systems.
27697 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} and @file{xemacs.mak}
27698 superfluous, so they have been removed.
27701 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
27703 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
27704 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
27707 @c FIXME: `gnus-load' is mentioned in README, which is not included in
27708 @c the repository. We should find a better place for this item.
27710 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
27712 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
27713 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
27714 lisp directory into load-path.
27716 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
27717 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
27721 @item New packages and libraries within Gnus
27722 @c *****************************************
27727 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
27728 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
27731 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
27733 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
27734 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS.
27737 Improved anti-spam features.
27739 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
27740 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
27741 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
27742 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
27743 are also new. @ref{Thwarting Email Spam} and @ref{Spam Package}.
27744 @c FIXME: @xref{Spam Package}?. Should this be under Misc?
27747 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
27749 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
27750 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
27751 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
27752 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
27753 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
27757 @item Changes in group mode
27758 @c ************************
27763 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
27767 Retrieval of charters and control messages
27769 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
27770 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
27773 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
27775 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
27776 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
27777 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
27778 variable in @file{~/.gnus.el} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
27779 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
27782 (setq gnus-parameters
27784 (gnus-show-threads nil)
27785 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
27786 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
27787 (to-group . "\\1"))))
27791 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
27793 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
27794 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
27795 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
27796 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
27797 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
27798 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
27799 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
27800 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
27801 when getting new mail, remove the function.
27804 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
27806 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
27807 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
27808 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
27811 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
27812 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
27814 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
27815 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
27816 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
27818 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
27822 Old intermediate incoming mail files (@file{Incoming*}) are deleted
27823 after a couple of days, not immediately. @xref{Mail Source
27824 Customization}. (New in Gnus 5.10.10 / Emacs 22.2)
27828 @item Changes in summary and article mode
27829 @c **************************************
27834 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
27835 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
27836 region if the region is active.
27839 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
27840 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
27845 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
27846 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
27847 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
27848 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
27851 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
27856 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
27857 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
27859 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
27860 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
27864 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
27865 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
27868 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
27871 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
27872 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
27875 Warn about email replies to news
27877 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
27878 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
27882 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
27883 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
27887 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
27888 opposed to old but unread messages).
27891 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
27892 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
27895 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
27896 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
27899 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
27900 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
27903 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
27905 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
27906 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
27907 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
27908 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
27911 The new command @kbd{W Y f}
27912 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}) allows deuglifying broken
27913 Outlook (Express) articles.
27916 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
27918 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
27919 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
27920 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
27921 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
27923 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
27924 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
27925 message cited below.
27928 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now displayed graphically in
27931 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.gnus.el} to
27935 Face headers handling. @xref{Face}.
27938 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
27939 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
27942 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
27945 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
27947 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
27948 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
27949 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
27950 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
27951 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
27955 Deleting of attachments.
27957 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
27958 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
27959 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
27960 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
27961 that support editing.
27964 @code{gnus-default-charset}
27966 The default value is determined from the
27967 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
27968 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
27969 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
27972 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
27974 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
27975 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
27976 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
27979 Extended format specs.
27981 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
27982 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
27983 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
27984 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
27985 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
27986 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
27989 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
27990 @c FIXME: Was this a user-visible change?
27992 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
27993 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
27994 out other articles.
27997 Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
27999 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
28000 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
28001 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
28002 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
28005 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
28009 @item Changes in Message mode and related Gnus features
28010 @c ****************************************************
28017 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
28018 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
28019 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
28022 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
28023 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
28026 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
28027 Gcc articles as read.
28030 Externalizing of attachments
28032 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
28033 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
28034 local files as external parts.
28037 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
28038 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
28041 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
28043 Earlier it was generated when the user configurable email address was
28044 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
28045 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
28046 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
28047 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
28048 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
28049 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
28050 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
28051 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
28054 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
28056 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
28057 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
28058 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
28059 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
28060 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
28061 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
28064 References and X-Draft-From headers are no longer generated when you
28065 start composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
28069 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers. @xref{X-Face}.
28072 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
28074 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
28075 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
28076 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
28077 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
28078 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
28079 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
28080 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
28081 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
28082 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
28083 was inserted directly.
28086 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
28088 @c FIXME should that not be 'message-user-agent?
28089 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
28090 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
28091 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
28092 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
28095 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
28097 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
28099 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
28100 'bbdb-complete-name)
28104 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
28106 Add a new format of match like
28108 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
28109 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28111 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
28113 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
28114 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
28118 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
28120 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
28121 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
28122 need add those two headers too.
28125 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
28126 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
28127 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
28131 The option @code{mm-fill-flowed} can be used to disable treatment of
28132 ``format=flowed'' messages. Also, flowed text is disabled when sending
28133 inline PGP signed messages. @xref{Flowed text, , Flowed text,
28134 emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}. (New in Gnus 5.10.7)
28135 @c This entry is also present in the node "No Gnus".
28138 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
28140 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
28143 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
28145 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
28149 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
28151 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
28152 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
28153 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
28154 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
28155 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
28156 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
28157 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
28158 The behavior can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
28161 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
28162 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
28164 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
28165 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
28166 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
28167 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
28170 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
28173 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
28174 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
28177 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to the symbol
28180 The behavior for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
28181 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
28182 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
28183 invalidate the digital signature.
28186 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
28187 decompressed when activated.
28188 @c FIXME: Does this affect article or message mode?
28191 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
28193 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
28194 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
28195 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
28196 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
28197 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
28200 @item You can now drag and drop attachments to the Message buffer.
28201 See @code{mml-dnd-protocol-alist} and @code{mml-dnd-attach-options}.
28202 @xref{MIME, ,MIME, message, Message Manual}.
28203 @c New in 5.10.9 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.1)
28205 @item @code{auto-fill-mode} is enabled by default in Message mode.
28206 See @code{message-fill-column}. @xref{Various Message Variables, ,
28207 Message Headers, message, Message Manual}.
28208 @c New in Gnus 5.10.12 / 5.11 (Emacs 22.3)
28212 @item Changes in back ends
28213 @c ***********************
28217 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
28220 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
28223 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
28225 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
28228 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
28230 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
28231 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
28232 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
28233 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
28234 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
28235 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
28236 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
28237 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
28238 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
28239 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
28240 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
28250 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
28251 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
28254 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
28255 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
28256 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
28257 message, Message Manual}).
28260 The tool bars have been updated to use GNOME icons in Group, Summary and
28261 Message mode. You can also customize the tool bars: @kbd{M-x
28262 customize-apropos RET -tool-bar$} should get you started. This is a new
28263 feature in Gnus 5.10.10. (Only for Emacs, not in XEmacs.)
28265 @item The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly
28266 in the group buffer, see the variable @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}.
28267 Its default value depends on your Emacs version. This is a new feature
28272 @item Miscellaneous changes
28273 @c ************************
28280 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
28281 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
28282 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
28283 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
28284 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
28285 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
28286 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
28287 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
28288 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
28289 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
28290 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
28291 behavior of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
28292 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
28293 is not needed any more.
28296 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
28298 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
28299 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
28300 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
28305 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
28306 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
28307 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
28311 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
28314 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
28316 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
28323 @subsubsection No Gnus
28326 New features in No Gnus:
28327 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
28329 @include gnus-news.texi
28335 @section The Manual
28339 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
28340 either @code{texi2dvi}
28342 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
28343 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
28345 to get what you hold in your hands now.
28347 The following conventions have been used:
28352 This is a @samp{string}
28355 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
28358 This is a @file{file}
28361 This is a @code{symbol}
28365 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
28369 (setq flargnoze "yes")
28372 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
28375 (setq flumphel 'yes)
28378 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
28379 ever get them confused.
28383 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
28384 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
28385 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
28386 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
28387 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
28388 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
28389 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
28395 @node On Writing Manuals
28396 @section On Writing Manuals
28398 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
28399 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
28400 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
28401 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
28402 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
28403 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code go hand
28406 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
28407 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
28408 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
28411 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
28412 reference manual as source material. It would look quite different.
28417 @section Terminology
28419 @cindex terminology
28424 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
28425 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
28426 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
28427 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
28428 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
28432 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
28433 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
28434 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
28435 not posting, and replying is not following up.
28439 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
28443 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
28448 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
28449 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
28450 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
28451 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
28452 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
28453 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
28454 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
28455 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
28456 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
28459 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
28460 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
28461 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
28462 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
28463 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
28464 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
28466 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
28467 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
28468 access the articles.
28470 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
28471 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
28472 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
28477 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
28478 default, way of getting news.
28482 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
28483 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
28488 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
28489 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
28493 A message that has been posted as news.
28496 @cindex mail message
28497 A message that has been mailed.
28501 A mail message or news article
28505 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
28510 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
28515 A line from the head of an article.
28519 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
28520 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
28522 @item @acronym{NOV}
28523 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
28524 @acronym{NOV} stands for News OverView, which is a type of news server
28525 header which provide datas containing the condensed header information
28526 of articles. They are produced by the server itself; in the @code{nntp}
28527 back end Gnus uses the ones that the @acronym{NNTP} server makes, but
28528 Gnus makes them by itself for some backends (in particular, @code{nnml}).
28530 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
28531 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
28532 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
28533 normal @sc{head} format.
28535 The @acronym{NOV} data consist of one or more text lines (@pxref{Text
28536 Lines, ,Motion by Text Lines, elisp, The Emacs Lisp Reference Manual})
28537 where each line has the header information of one article. The header
28538 information is a tab-separated series of the header's contents including
28539 an article number, a subject, an author, a date, a message-id,
28542 Those data enable Gnus to generate summary lines quickly. However, if
28543 the server does not support @acronym{NOV} or you disable it purposely or
28544 for some reason, Gnus will try to generate the header information by
28545 parsing each article's headers one by one. It will take time.
28546 Therefore, it is not usually a good idea to set nn*-nov-is-evil
28547 (@pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}) to a non-@code{nil} value unless you
28548 know that the server makes wrong @acronym{NOV} data.
28552 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
28553 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
28554 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
28555 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
28556 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
28557 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
28559 @item killed groups
28560 @cindex killed groups
28561 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
28562 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
28564 @item zombie groups
28565 @cindex zombie groups
28566 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
28569 @cindex active file
28570 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
28571 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
28572 is rather large, as you might surmise.
28575 @cindex bogus groups
28576 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
28577 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
28578 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
28581 @cindex activating groups
28582 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
28583 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
28584 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
28588 News servers store their articles locally in one fashion or other.
28589 One old-fashioned storage method is to have just one file per
28590 article. That's called a ``traditional spool''.
28594 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
28596 @item select method
28597 @cindex select method
28598 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
28601 @item virtual server
28602 @cindex virtual server
28603 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
28604 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
28605 whole is a virtual server.
28609 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
28610 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
28613 @item ephemeral groups
28614 @cindex ephemeral groups
28615 @cindex temporary groups
28616 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
28617 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
28618 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
28621 @cindex solid groups
28622 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
28623 group buffer are solid groups.
28625 @item sparse articles
28626 @cindex sparse articles
28627 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
28628 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
28632 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
28633 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
28637 @cindex thread root
28638 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
28639 articles in the thread.
28643 An article that has responses.
28647 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
28651 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
28652 specified by RFC 1153.
28655 @cindex splitting, terminology
28656 @cindex mail sorting
28657 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
28658 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
28659 incorrectly called mail filtering.
28665 @node Customization
28666 @section Customization
28667 @cindex general customization
28669 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
28670 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
28671 for some quite common situations.
28674 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
28675 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
28676 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
28677 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
28681 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
28682 @subsection Slow/Expensive Connection
28684 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
28685 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
28686 Gnus has to get from the server.
28690 @item gnus-read-active-file
28691 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
28692 entire active file from the server. This file is often very large. You
28693 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28694 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
28695 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
28697 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
28698 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
28699 Usually this one must @emph{always} be @code{nil} (which is the
28700 default). If, for example, you wish to not use @acronym{NOV}
28701 (@pxref{Terminology}) with the @code{nntp} back end (@pxref{Crosspost
28702 Handling}), set @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} to a non-@code{nil} value
28703 instead of setting this. But you normally do not need to set
28704 @code{nntp-nov-is-evil} since Gnus by itself will detect whether the
28705 @acronym{NNTP} server supports @acronym{NOV}. Anyway, grabbing article
28706 headers from the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast if you tell
28707 Gnus not to use @acronym{NOV}.
28709 As the variables for the other back ends, there are
28710 @code{nndiary-nov-is-evil}, @code{nndir-nov-is-evil},
28711 @code{nnfolder-nov-is-evil}, @code{nnimap-nov-is-evil},
28712 @code{nnml-nov-is-evil}, and @code{nnspool-nov-is-evil}. Note that a
28713 non-@code{nil} value for @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} overrides all those
28718 @node Slow Terminal Connection
28719 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
28721 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
28722 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
28723 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
28727 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
28728 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
28729 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
28730 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
28731 horizontal and vertical recentering.
28733 @item gnus-visible-headers
28734 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
28735 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
28736 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
28737 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
28739 Use the following to enable all the available hiding features:
28741 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
28742 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
28743 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
28746 @item gnus-use-full-window
28747 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
28748 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
28749 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
28750 want to read them anyway.
28752 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
28753 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
28757 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
28758 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
28759 lines, which might save some time.
28763 @node Little Disk Space
28764 @subsection Little Disk Space
28767 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
28768 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
28772 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
28773 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
28774 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28775 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28778 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
28779 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
28780 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
28781 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
28784 @item gnus-save-killed-list
28785 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
28786 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
28787 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
28788 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
28794 @subsection Slow Machine
28795 @cindex slow machine
28797 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
28798 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
28800 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
28801 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
28803 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
28804 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
28805 summary buffer faster. Also @pxref{Slow/Expensive Connection}.
28809 @node Troubleshooting
28810 @section Troubleshooting
28811 @cindex troubleshooting
28813 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
28821 Make sure your computer is switched on.
28824 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
28825 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
28829 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
28831 @samp{No Gnus v0.10} @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change this line!
28833 you have the right files loaded. Otherwise you have some old @file{.el}
28834 files lying around. Delete these.
28837 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
28838 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
28841 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
28842 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
28843 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
28844 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
28845 something like that.
28848 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
28851 @cindex reporting bugs
28853 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
28855 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
28856 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
28857 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
28858 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
28860 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
28861 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
28862 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
28863 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
28866 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
28867 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
28868 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
28869 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
28870 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
28871 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
28873 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
28874 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
28875 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
28879 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
28880 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
28883 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
28884 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
28885 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
28886 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
28887 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
28888 you discover some weird behavior when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
28889 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
28890 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
28891 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
28892 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
28893 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
28894 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
28895 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
28896 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
28901 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
28902 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
28903 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
28904 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
28905 helps isolating the real problem areas).
28907 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
28908 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
28909 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
28910 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
28911 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
28912 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
28913 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
28914 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
28915 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
28916 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
28917 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
28918 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
28919 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
28922 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
28923 @cindex ding mailing list
28924 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
28925 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
28926 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
28927 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
28931 @node Gnus Reference Guide
28932 @section Gnus Reference Guide
28934 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
28935 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
28936 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
28937 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
28940 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
28941 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
28942 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
28943 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
28944 and general methods of operation.
28947 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
28948 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
28949 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
28950 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
28951 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
28952 * Group Info:: The group info format.
28953 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
28954 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
28955 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
28959 @node Gnus Utility Functions
28960 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
28961 @cindex Gnus utility functions
28962 @cindex utility functions
28964 @cindex internal variables
28966 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
28967 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
28968 Below is a list of the most common ones.
28972 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
28973 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
28974 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
28976 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
28977 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
28978 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
28980 @item gnus-group-real-name
28981 @findex gnus-group-real-name
28982 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
28985 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
28986 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
28987 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
28988 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
28990 @item gnus-get-info
28991 @findex gnus-get-info
28992 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
28994 @item gnus-group-unread
28995 @findex gnus-group-unread
28996 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
29000 @findex gnus-active
29001 The active entry for @var{group}.
29003 @item gnus-set-active
29004 @findex gnus-set-active
29005 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
29007 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29008 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
29009 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
29012 @item gnus-continuum-version
29013 @findex gnus-continuum-version
29014 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
29015 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
29018 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
29019 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
29020 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
29022 @item gnus-news-group-p
29023 @findex gnus-news-group-p
29024 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
29026 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29027 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
29028 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
29030 @item gnus-server-to-method
29031 @findex gnus-server-to-method
29032 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
29034 @item gnus-server-equal
29035 @findex gnus-server-equal
29036 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
29038 @item gnus-group-native-p
29039 @findex gnus-group-native-p
29040 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
29042 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
29043 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
29044 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
29046 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
29047 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
29048 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
29050 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
29051 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
29052 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
29053 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
29055 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
29056 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
29057 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
29059 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
29060 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
29061 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
29063 @item gnus-check-backend-function
29064 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
29065 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
29066 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
29069 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
29073 @item gnus-read-method
29074 @findex gnus-read-method
29075 Prompts the user for a select method.
29080 @node Back End Interface
29081 @subsection Back End Interface
29083 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
29084 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
29085 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
29086 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
29087 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
29088 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
29090 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
29091 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
29092 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
29093 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
29094 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
29095 been opened, the function should fail.
29097 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
29098 name. Take this example:
29102 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
29103 (nntp-port-number 4324))
29106 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
29107 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
29109 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
29110 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
29111 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
29113 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
29114 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
29115 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
29117 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
29118 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
29119 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
29120 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
29121 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
29122 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
29125 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
29126 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
29127 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
29128 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
29131 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
29132 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
29133 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
29134 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
29135 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
29136 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
29137 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
29138 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
29139 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
29140 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
29142 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
29143 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
29144 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
29145 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
29146 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
29147 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
29148 of numbers as long as possible.
29150 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
29151 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
29152 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
29154 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
29157 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
29160 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
29161 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
29162 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
29163 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
29164 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
29165 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
29169 @node Required Back End Functions
29170 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
29174 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
29176 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
29177 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
29178 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
29179 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
29181 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
29182 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
29183 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
29184 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
29186 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
29187 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
29188 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
29189 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
29190 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
29191 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
29192 number, do maximum fetches.
29194 Here's an example HEAD:
29197 221 1056 Article retrieved.
29198 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
29199 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
29200 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
29201 Subject: Re: Something very droll
29202 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
29203 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
29205 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
29206 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
29207 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
29211 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
29212 these in the data buffer.
29214 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
29218 head = error / valid-head
29219 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
29220 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
29221 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
29222 header = <text> eol
29226 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
29228 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
29229 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
29233 nov-buffer = *nov-line
29234 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
29235 field = <text except TAB>
29238 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
29242 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
29244 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
29245 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
29247 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
29248 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
29249 server. In fact, it should do so.
29251 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
29252 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
29255 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
29257 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
29258 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
29261 There should be no data returned.
29264 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
29266 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
29267 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
29268 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
29269 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
29271 There should be no data returned.
29274 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
29276 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
29277 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
29278 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
29279 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
29281 There should be no data returned.
29284 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
29286 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
29288 There should be no data returned.
29291 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
29293 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
29294 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
29295 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
29296 it would be nice if that were possible.
29298 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
29299 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
29300 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
29301 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
29302 into its article buffer.
29304 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
29305 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
29306 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
29307 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
29308 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
29309 on successful article retrieval.
29312 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST INFO)
29314 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
29315 making @var{group} the current group.
29317 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
29320 If @var{info}, it allows the backend to update the group info
29323 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
29326 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
29329 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
29330 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
29331 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
29332 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
29333 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
29334 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
29335 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
29336 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
29337 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
29341 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
29342 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
29343 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
29347 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29349 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
29350 a no-op on most back ends.
29352 There should be no data returned.
29355 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
29357 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
29360 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
29363 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
29364 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
29367 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
29368 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
29369 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
29370 and the highest as 0.
29373 active-file = *active-line
29374 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
29376 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
29379 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
29380 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
29381 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
29384 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
29386 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
29387 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
29388 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
29389 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
29390 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
29391 clear if the posting could not be completed.
29393 There should be no result data from this function.
29398 @node Optional Back End Functions
29399 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
29403 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
29405 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
29406 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
29407 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
29409 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
29410 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
29411 former is in the same format as the data from
29412 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
29413 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
29416 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
29420 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
29422 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
29423 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
29424 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
29425 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
29426 should return a non-@code{nil} value (exceptionally,
29427 @code{nntp-request-update-info} always returns @code{nil} not to waste
29428 the network resources).
29430 There should be no result data from this function.
29433 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
29435 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
29436 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
29437 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
29438 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
29439 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
29440 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
29441 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
29442 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
29444 There should be no result data from this function.
29447 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
29449 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
29450 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
29451 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
29452 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
29453 propagate the mark information to the server.
29455 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
29458 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
29461 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
29462 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
29463 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
29464 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
29465 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
29466 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
29467 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
29468 possible, not limit itself to these.
29470 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
29471 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
29472 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
29473 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
29475 An example action list:
29478 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
29479 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
29480 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
29483 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
29484 mark on (currently not used for anything).
29486 There should be no result data from this function.
29488 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
29490 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
29491 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
29492 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
29493 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
29494 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
29496 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
29497 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
29498 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
29501 There should be no result data from this function.
29504 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
29506 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
29507 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
29508 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
29509 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
29510 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
29511 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
29512 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
29513 local if that's practical.
29515 There should be no result data from this function.
29518 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
29520 The result data from this function should be a description of
29524 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
29526 description = <text>
29529 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
29531 The result data from this function should be the description of all
29532 groups available on the server.
29535 description-buffer = *description-line
29539 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
29541 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
29542 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
29543 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
29544 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
29545 in the active buffer format.
29547 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
29548 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
29549 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
29550 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
29551 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
29552 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
29553 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
29556 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
29558 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
29560 There should be no return data.
29563 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
29565 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
29566 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
29567 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
29568 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
29569 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
29572 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
29575 There should be no result data returned.
29578 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
29580 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
29581 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
29583 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
29584 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
29585 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
29586 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
29587 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
29588 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
29590 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
29591 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
29594 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29595 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29597 There should be no data returned.
29600 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
29602 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
29603 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
29604 this function in short order.
29606 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
29607 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
29609 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
29610 article for that group.
29612 There should be no data returned.
29615 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
29617 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
29618 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
29620 There should be no data returned.
29623 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
29625 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
29626 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
29627 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
29629 There should be no data returned.
29632 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
29634 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
29635 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
29637 There should be no data returned.
29642 @node Error Messaging
29643 @subsubsection Error Messaging
29645 @findex nnheader-report
29646 @findex nnheader-get-report
29647 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
29648 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
29649 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
29650 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
29651 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
29652 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
29655 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
29657 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
29660 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
29661 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
29662 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
29663 takes one argument---the server symbol.
29665 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
29666 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
29667 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
29670 @node Writing New Back Ends
29671 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
29673 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
29674 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
29675 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
29676 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
29677 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
29680 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
29681 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
29682 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
29684 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
29685 package called @code{nnoo}.
29687 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
29688 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
29694 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
29695 parameters. For instance:
29698 (nnoo-declare nndir
29702 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
29703 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
29706 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
29707 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
29708 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
29710 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
29711 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
29712 a function in those back ends.
29715 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29716 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29717 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29720 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
29721 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
29722 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
29724 @item nnoo-define-basics
29725 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
29729 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29733 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
29734 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
29735 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
29737 @item nnoo-map-functions
29738 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
29739 functions from the parent back ends.
29742 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29743 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29744 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
29747 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
29748 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
29749 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
29750 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
29753 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
29754 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
29755 haven't already been defined.
29761 nnmh-request-newgroups)
29765 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
29766 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
29767 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
29772 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
29775 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
29776 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,1996 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
29780 (require 'nnheader)
29784 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
29786 (nnoo-declare nndir
29789 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
29790 "Where nndir will look for groups."
29791 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
29793 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
29794 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
29797 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
29799 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
29800 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
29801 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
29803 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
29804 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
29806 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
29808 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
29810 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
29811 (setq nndir-directory
29812 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
29814 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
29815 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
29816 (push `(nndir-current-group
29817 ,(file-name-nondirectory
29818 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29820 (push `(nndir-top-directory
29821 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
29823 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
29825 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
29826 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29827 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
29828 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
29829 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
29833 nnmh-status-message
29835 nnmh-request-newgroups))
29841 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29842 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
29844 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
29845 @findex gnus-declare-backend
29846 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
29847 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
29848 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
29850 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
29851 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
29856 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
29859 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
29861 The abilities can be:
29865 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
29867 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
29869 This back end supports both mail and news.
29871 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
29874 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
29875 articles and groups.
29877 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
29878 true for almost all back ends.
29879 @item prompt-address
29880 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
29881 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
29882 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
29886 @node Mail-like Back Ends
29887 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
29889 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
29890 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
29891 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
29892 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
29895 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
29896 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
29897 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
29900 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
29901 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
29904 This function takes four parameters.
29908 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
29911 @item exit-function
29912 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
29914 @item temp-directory
29915 Where the temporary files should be stored.
29918 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
29919 performed for one group only.
29922 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
29923 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
29924 find the article number assigned to this article.
29926 The function also uses the following variables:
29927 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
29928 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
29929 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
29930 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
29934 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
29935 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
29939 @node Score File Syntax
29940 @subsection Score File Syntax
29942 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
29943 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
29944 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
29946 Here's a typical score file:
29950 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
29957 BNF definition of a score file:
29960 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
29961 element = rule / atom
29962 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
29963 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
29964 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
29965 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
29967 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
29968 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
29969 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
29970 date-header = "date"
29971 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29972 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29973 score = "nil" / <integer>
29974 date = "nil" / <natural number>
29975 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
29976 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
29977 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
29978 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
29979 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29980 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
29981 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
29982 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
29983 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
29984 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
29985 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
29986 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
29987 exclude-files / read-only / touched
29988 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
29989 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
29990 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
29991 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
29992 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
29993 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
29994 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
29995 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
29996 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
29997 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
29998 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
29999 eval = "eval" space <form>
30000 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
30003 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
30006 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
30007 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
30008 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
30009 one looong line, then that's ok.
30011 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
30012 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
30016 @subsection Headers
30018 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
30019 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
30020 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
30021 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
30023 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
30024 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
30025 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
30026 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
30027 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
30028 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
30029 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
30031 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
30032 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
30033 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
30034 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
30035 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
30037 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
30038 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
30044 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
30045 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
30047 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
30048 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
30049 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
30050 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
30052 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
30056 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
30059 is transformed into
30062 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
30065 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
30066 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
30069 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
30072 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
30073 is slightly tricky:
30076 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
30082 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
30085 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
30091 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
30098 and is equal to the previous range.
30100 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
30101 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
30102 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
30106 range = simple-range / normal-range
30107 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
30108 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
30109 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
30110 number *[ " " contents ]
30113 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
30114 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
30115 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
30116 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
30117 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
30122 @subsection Group Info
30124 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
30125 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
30126 describes the group.
30128 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
30129 second is a more complex one:
30132 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
30134 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
30135 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
30137 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
30140 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
30141 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
30142 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
30143 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
30144 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
30145 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
30146 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
30147 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
30148 this section is about.
30150 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
30151 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
30152 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
30154 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
30157 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
30158 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
30159 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
30160 group = quote <string> quote
30161 ralevel = rank / level
30162 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30163 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
30164 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
30166 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
30167 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
30168 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
30169 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
30172 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
30173 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
30176 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
30177 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
30180 @item gnus-info-group
30181 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
30182 @findex gnus-info-group
30183 @findex gnus-info-set-group
30184 Get/set the group name.
30186 @item gnus-info-rank
30187 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
30188 @findex gnus-info-rank
30189 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
30190 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
30192 @item gnus-info-level
30193 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
30194 @findex gnus-info-level
30195 @findex gnus-info-set-level
30196 Get/set the group level.
30198 @item gnus-info-score
30199 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
30200 @findex gnus-info-score
30201 @findex gnus-info-set-score
30202 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
30204 @item gnus-info-read
30205 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
30206 @findex gnus-info-read
30207 @findex gnus-info-set-read
30208 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
30210 @item gnus-info-marks
30211 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
30212 @findex gnus-info-marks
30213 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
30214 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
30216 @item gnus-info-method
30217 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
30218 @findex gnus-info-method
30219 @findex gnus-info-set-method
30220 Get/set the group select method.
30222 @item gnus-info-params
30223 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
30224 @findex gnus-info-params
30225 @findex gnus-info-set-params
30226 Get/set the group parameters.
30229 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
30230 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
30232 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
30233 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
30234 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
30235 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
30238 @node Extended Interactive
30239 @subsection Extended Interactive
30240 @cindex interactive
30241 @findex gnus-interactive
30243 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
30244 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
30245 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
30248 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
30249 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
30254 The best thing to do would have been to implement
30255 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
30256 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
30257 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
30258 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
30259 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
30260 @code{interactive}.
30262 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
30267 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
30268 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
30272 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
30273 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
30274 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
30277 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
30281 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
30285 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
30291 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
30292 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
30296 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
30297 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
30298 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
30300 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
30301 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
30302 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
30303 Gnus, that's very useful.
30305 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
30306 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
30307 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
30308 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
30309 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
30310 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
30311 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
30312 following function:
30315 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
30319 (,function ,@@args))
30323 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
30324 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
30325 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
30328 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
30329 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
30330 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
30332 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
30333 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
30334 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
30337 @node Various File Formats
30338 @subsection Various File Formats
30341 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
30342 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
30346 @node Active File Format
30347 @subsubsection Active File Format
30349 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
30350 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
30353 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
30356 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
30357 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
30358 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
30359 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
30360 no.general 1000 900 y
30363 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
30366 active = *group-line
30367 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
30368 group = <non-white-space string>
30370 high-number = <non-negative integer>
30371 low-number = <positive integer>
30372 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
30375 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
30376 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
30379 @node Newsgroups File Format
30380 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
30382 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
30383 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
30384 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
30387 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
30388 Here's the definition:
30392 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
30393 group = <non-white-space string>
30395 description = <string>
30400 @node Emacs for Heathens
30401 @section Emacs for Heathens
30403 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
30404 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
30405 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
30406 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
30407 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
30408 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
30409 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
30413 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
30414 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
30419 @subsection Keystrokes
30423 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
30426 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
30429 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
30430 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
30431 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
30432 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
30433 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
30434 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
30436 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
30437 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
30438 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
30439 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
30440 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
30441 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
30442 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
30444 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
30445 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
30446 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
30447 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
30448 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
30449 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
30450 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
30452 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
30453 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
30454 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
30455 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
30456 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
30462 @subsection Emacs Lisp
30464 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
30465 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
30466 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
30467 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
30469 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
30470 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
30471 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
30472 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
30473 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
30474 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
30475 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{~/.gnus.el}
30476 file to customize Gnus. (You can also use the @file{~/.emacs} file, but
30477 in order to set things of Gnus up, it is much better to use the
30478 @file{~/.gnus.el} file, @xref{Startup Files}.)
30480 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
30481 write the following:
30484 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
30487 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
30488 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
30489 you can go and fill your @file{~/.gnus.el} file with lots of these to
30490 change how Gnus works.
30492 If you have put that thing in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, it will be
30493 read and @code{eval}ed (which is Lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
30494 start Gnus. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
30495 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
30496 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
30498 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
30499 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
30500 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
30504 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
30508 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
30511 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server-file} to
30512 @samp{/etc/nntpserver}'', that means:
30515 (setq gnus-nntp-server-file "/etc/nntpserver")
30518 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
30519 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
30522 @include gnus-faq.texi
30524 @node GNU Free Documentation License
30525 @chapter GNU Free Documentation License
30526 @include doclicense.texi
30544 @c Local Variables:
30546 @c coding: iso-8859-1