10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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295 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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304 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
306 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
309 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
310 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
311 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
312 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
313 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
314 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
315 License'' in the Emacs manual.
317 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
318 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
319 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
321 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
322 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
323 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
324 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
332 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
334 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
335 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
337 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
338 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
339 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
340 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
341 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
342 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
343 License'' in the Emacs manual.
345 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
346 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
347 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
349 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
350 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
351 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
352 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
360 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
363 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
364 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001,
366 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
368 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
369 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
370 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
371 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
372 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
373 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
374 License'' in the Emacs manual.
376 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
377 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
378 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
380 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
381 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
382 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
383 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
392 @top The Gnus Newsreader
396 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
397 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
398 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
401 This manual corresponds to Gnus v5.10.6.
412 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
413 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
415 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
416 being accused of plagiarism:
418 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
419 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
420 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
421 can even read news with it!
423 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
424 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
425 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
426 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
427 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
433 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
434 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
435 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
436 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
437 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
438 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
439 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
440 * Various:: General purpose settings.
441 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
442 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
443 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
444 * Key Index:: Key Index.
446 Other related manuals
448 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
449 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
450 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
451 * PGG:(pgg). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
452 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
455 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
459 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
460 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
461 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
462 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
463 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
464 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
465 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
466 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
467 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
468 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
469 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
473 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
474 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
475 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
479 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
480 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
481 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
482 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
483 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
484 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
485 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
486 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
487 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
488 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
489 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
490 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
491 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
492 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
493 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
494 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
495 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
499 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
500 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
501 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
505 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
506 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
507 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
508 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
509 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
513 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
514 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
515 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
516 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
517 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
521 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
522 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
523 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
524 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
525 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
526 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
527 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
528 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
529 * Threading:: How threads are made.
530 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
531 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
532 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
533 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
534 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
535 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
536 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
537 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
538 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
539 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
540 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
541 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
542 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
543 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
544 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
545 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
546 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
547 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
548 or reselecting the current group.
549 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
550 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
551 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
552 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
554 Summary Buffer Format
556 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
557 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
558 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
559 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
563 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
564 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
566 Reply, Followup and Post
568 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
569 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
570 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
571 * Canceling and Superseding::
575 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
576 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
577 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
581 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
582 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
583 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
587 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
588 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
590 Customizing Threading
592 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
593 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
594 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
595 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
599 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
600 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
601 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
602 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
603 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
604 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
608 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
609 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
610 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
614 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
615 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
616 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
617 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
618 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
619 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
620 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
621 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
622 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
623 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
624 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
626 Alternative Approaches
628 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
629 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
631 Various Summary Stuff
633 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
634 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
635 * Summary Generation Commands::
636 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
640 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
641 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
642 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
643 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
644 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
648 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
649 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
650 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
651 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
652 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
653 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
654 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
655 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
656 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
660 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
661 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
662 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
663 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
664 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
665 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
666 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
667 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
671 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
672 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
673 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
674 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
675 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
676 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
677 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
681 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
682 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
686 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
687 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
688 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
692 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
693 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
694 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
695 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
696 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
697 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
698 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
699 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
700 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
701 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
702 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
703 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
704 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
708 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
709 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
710 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
712 Choosing a Mail Back End
714 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
715 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
716 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
717 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
718 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
719 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
720 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
725 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
726 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
727 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
728 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
729 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
730 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
734 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
735 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
736 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
737 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
738 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
739 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
743 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
744 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
745 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
746 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
747 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
751 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
755 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
756 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
757 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
761 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
762 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
766 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
767 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
768 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
769 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
770 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
771 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
772 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
773 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
774 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
775 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
776 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
777 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
778 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
782 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
783 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
784 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
788 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
789 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
790 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
794 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
795 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
796 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
797 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
798 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
799 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
800 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
801 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
802 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
803 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
804 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
805 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
806 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
807 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
808 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
809 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
813 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
814 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
815 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
819 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
820 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
821 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
822 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
823 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
824 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
825 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
826 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
827 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
828 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
829 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
830 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
831 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
832 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
833 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
834 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
835 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
836 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
837 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
838 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
842 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
843 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
844 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
845 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
846 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
847 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
848 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
849 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
853 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
854 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
855 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
856 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
857 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
861 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
862 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
863 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
864 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
865 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
866 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
868 Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
870 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
871 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
872 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
873 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
874 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
876 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
877 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
879 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
881 * SpamAssassin backend::
882 * ifile spam filtering::
883 * spam-stat spam filtering::
885 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
887 Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
889 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
890 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
891 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
895 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
896 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
897 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
898 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
899 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
900 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
901 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
902 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
903 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
907 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
908 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
909 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
910 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
911 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
912 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
913 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
914 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
915 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
919 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
920 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
921 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
922 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
923 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
924 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
925 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
929 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
930 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
931 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
932 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
936 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
937 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
938 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
939 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
940 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
941 * Group Info:: The group info format.
942 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
943 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
944 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
948 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
949 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
950 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
951 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
952 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
953 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
957 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
958 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
962 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
963 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
969 @chapter Starting Gnus
974 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
975 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
978 @findex gnus-other-frame
979 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
980 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
981 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
983 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
984 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
985 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
987 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
988 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
991 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
992 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
993 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
994 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
995 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
996 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
997 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
998 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
999 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
1000 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
1001 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
1005 @node Finding the News
1006 @section Finding the News
1007 @cindex finding news
1009 @vindex gnus-select-method
1011 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1012 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1013 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1014 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1017 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1018 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1021 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1024 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1027 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1030 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1031 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1032 server is running Leafnode; in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1034 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1036 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1037 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1038 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1039 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1040 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1041 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1042 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1044 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1045 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
1046 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
1047 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
1049 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
1050 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
1051 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
1052 @acronym{NNTP} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
1053 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
1054 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
1055 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
1056 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
1057 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
1060 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1062 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1063 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1064 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1065 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1066 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1067 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1069 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1071 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1072 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1073 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1074 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1075 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1076 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1079 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1080 you would typically set this variable to
1083 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1087 @node The First Time
1088 @section The First Time
1089 @cindex first time usage
1091 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
1092 be subscribed by default.
1094 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1095 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
1096 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1097 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1100 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1101 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1102 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1104 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
1105 help you with most common problems.
1107 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1108 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1112 @node The Server is Down
1113 @section The Server is Down
1114 @cindex server errors
1116 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1117 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1118 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1120 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1121 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1122 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1123 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1124 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1125 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1126 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1128 @findex gnus-no-server
1129 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1131 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1132 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1133 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1134 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1135 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1136 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1137 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1141 @section Slave Gnusae
1144 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1145 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1146 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1147 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1149 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1150 @file{.newsrc} file.
1152 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1153 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1154 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1155 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1156 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1157 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1158 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1161 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1162 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1163 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1164 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1165 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1166 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1167 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1168 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1170 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1171 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1173 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1174 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1175 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1176 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1177 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1179 @node Fetching a Group
1180 @section Fetching a Group
1181 @cindex fetching a group
1183 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1184 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1185 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1186 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1187 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1188 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1194 @cindex subscription
1196 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1197 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1198 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1199 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1200 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1201 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1202 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1203 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1204 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1207 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1208 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1209 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1213 @node Checking New Groups
1214 @subsection Checking New Groups
1216 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1217 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1218 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1219 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1220 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1221 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1222 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1223 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1224 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1225 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1227 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1228 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1229 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1230 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1231 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1232 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1233 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1234 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1235 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1236 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1237 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1239 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1240 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1241 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1242 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1243 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1244 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1247 @node Subscription Methods
1248 @subsection Subscription Methods
1250 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1251 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1252 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1254 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1255 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1257 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1261 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1262 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1263 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1264 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1265 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1267 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1268 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1269 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1270 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1272 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1273 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1274 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1276 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1277 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1278 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1279 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1280 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1281 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1282 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1283 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1284 up. Or something like that.
1286 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1287 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1288 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1289 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1290 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1292 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1293 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1294 Kill all new groups.
1296 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1297 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1298 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1299 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1300 topic parameter that looks like
1306 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1309 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1314 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1315 A closely related variable is
1316 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1317 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1318 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1319 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1322 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1323 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1324 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1325 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1328 @node Filtering New Groups
1329 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1331 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1332 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1333 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1336 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1339 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1340 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1341 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1342 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1343 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1344 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1345 subscribing these groups.
1346 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1347 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1349 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1350 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1351 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1352 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1353 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1354 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1355 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1356 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1358 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1359 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1360 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1361 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1362 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1363 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1364 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1365 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1366 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, and @code{nnmaildir})
1367 subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this variable to
1370 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1371 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1374 @node Changing Servers
1375 @section Changing Servers
1376 @cindex changing servers
1378 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1379 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1380 very flaky and you want to use another.
1382 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1383 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1387 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1388 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1389 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1390 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1393 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1394 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1395 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1396 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1398 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1399 @findex gnus-change-server
1400 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1401 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1402 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1403 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1404 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1406 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1407 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1408 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1409 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1410 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1412 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1413 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1414 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1415 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1416 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1417 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1419 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1420 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1421 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1422 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1424 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1425 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1426 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1427 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1428 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1429 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1430 cache for all groups).
1434 @section Startup Files
1435 @cindex startup files
1440 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1441 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1443 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1444 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1445 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1446 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1447 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1448 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1449 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1451 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1452 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1453 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1454 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1455 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1456 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1458 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1459 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1460 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1461 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1462 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1463 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1464 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1465 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1466 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1467 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1469 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1470 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1471 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1472 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1473 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1474 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1475 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1476 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1477 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1478 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1479 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1480 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1482 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1483 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1484 @vindex version-control
1485 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1486 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1487 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1488 If you want version control for this file, set
1489 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1490 @code{version-control} variable.
1492 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1493 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1494 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1495 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1496 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1497 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1498 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1499 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1500 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1501 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1504 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1505 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1507 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1508 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1511 @vindex gnus-init-file
1512 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1513 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1514 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1515 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1516 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1517 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1518 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1519 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1520 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1521 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1527 @cindex dribble file
1530 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1531 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1532 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1533 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1534 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1537 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1538 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1541 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1542 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1543 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1545 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1546 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1547 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1548 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1549 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1550 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1552 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1553 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1554 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1557 @node The Active File
1558 @section The Active File
1560 @cindex ignored groups
1562 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1563 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1564 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1566 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1567 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1568 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1569 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1570 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1571 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1572 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1575 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1576 @c if you set it to anything else.
1578 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1580 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1581 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1582 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1584 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1585 you actually subscribe to.
1587 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1588 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1589 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1590 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1592 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1593 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1594 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1595 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1596 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1597 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1599 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1600 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1601 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1604 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1605 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1606 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1607 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1608 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1609 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1611 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1612 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1614 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1615 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1617 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1618 secondary select methods.
1621 @node Startup Variables
1622 @section Startup Variables
1626 @item gnus-load-hook
1627 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1628 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1629 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1630 times you start Gnus.
1632 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1633 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1634 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1636 @item gnus-startup-hook
1637 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1638 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1640 @item gnus-started-hook
1641 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1642 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1645 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1646 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1647 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1648 generating the group buffer.
1650 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1651 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1652 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1653 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1654 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1655 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1656 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1657 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1659 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1660 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1661 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1662 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1663 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1664 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1666 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1667 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1668 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1670 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1671 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1672 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1674 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1675 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1676 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1677 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1683 @chapter Group Buffer
1684 @cindex group buffer
1686 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1688 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1689 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1690 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1691 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1692 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1693 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1694 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1695 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1696 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1697 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1698 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1699 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1700 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1701 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1702 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1703 @c human rights at 9...
1706 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1707 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1708 long as Gnus is active.
1712 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1713 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1714 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1715 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1716 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1717 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1718 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1719 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1725 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1726 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1727 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1728 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1729 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1730 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1731 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1732 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1733 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1734 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1735 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1736 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1737 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1738 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1739 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1740 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1741 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1745 @node Group Buffer Format
1746 @section Group Buffer Format
1749 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1750 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1751 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1755 @node Group Line Specification
1756 @subsection Group Line Specification
1757 @cindex group buffer format
1759 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1760 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1762 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1765 25: news.announce.newusers
1766 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1771 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1772 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1773 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1774 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1776 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1777 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1778 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1779 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1780 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1781 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1783 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1785 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1786 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1787 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1788 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1789 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1791 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1792 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1793 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1795 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1800 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1803 Whether the group is subscribed.
1806 Level of subscribedness.
1809 Number of unread articles.
1812 Number of dormant articles.
1815 Number of ticked articles.
1818 Number of read articles.
1821 Number of unseen articles.
1824 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1825 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1827 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1828 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1829 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1830 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1831 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1832 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1833 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job. If you
1834 want to work on this, please contact the Gnus mailing list.
1837 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1840 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1849 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1850 comment element in the group parameters.
1853 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1854 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1855 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1859 @samp{m} if moderated.
1862 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1868 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1874 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1878 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1881 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1882 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1883 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1884 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1885 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1888 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1890 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1894 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1897 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1901 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1902 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1903 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1904 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1907 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1908 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1909 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1910 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1911 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1912 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1917 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1918 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1919 group, or a bogus native group.
1922 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1923 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1924 @cindex group mode line
1926 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1927 The mode line can be changed by setting
1928 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1929 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1933 The native news server.
1935 The native select method.
1939 @node Group Highlighting
1940 @subsection Group Highlighting
1941 @cindex highlighting
1942 @cindex group highlighting
1944 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1945 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1946 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1947 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1948 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1950 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1954 (cond (window-system
1955 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1956 (defface my-group-face-1
1957 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1958 (defface my-group-face-2
1959 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1960 "Second group face")
1961 (defface my-group-face-3
1962 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1963 (defface my-group-face-4
1964 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1965 (defface my-group-face-5
1966 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1968 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1969 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1970 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1971 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1972 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1973 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1976 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1978 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1985 The number of unread articles in the group.
1989 Whether the group is a mail group.
1991 The level of the group.
1993 The score of the group.
1995 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1997 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1998 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
2000 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
2001 topic being inserted.
2004 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
2005 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
2006 functions for snarfing info on the group.
2008 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
2009 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
2010 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
2011 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
2012 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
2015 @node Group Maneuvering
2016 @section Group Maneuvering
2017 @cindex group movement
2019 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
2020 expected, hopefully.
2026 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
2027 Go to the next group that has unread articles
2028 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
2034 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2035 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2036 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2040 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2041 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2046 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2050 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2051 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2052 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2056 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2057 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2058 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2061 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2067 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2068 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2069 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2074 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2075 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2076 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2080 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2081 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2082 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2085 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2086 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2087 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2088 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2092 @node Selecting a Group
2093 @section Selecting a Group
2094 @cindex group selection
2099 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2100 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2101 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2102 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2103 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2104 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2105 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2106 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2107 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2108 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2110 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2111 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2112 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2114 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2115 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2120 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2121 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2122 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2123 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2124 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2128 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2129 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2130 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2131 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2132 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2133 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2134 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2135 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2136 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2137 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2140 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2141 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2142 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2143 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2144 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2147 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2148 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2149 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2150 doing any processing of its contents
2151 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2152 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2153 manner will have no permanent effects.
2157 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2158 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2159 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2160 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2161 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2162 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2163 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2164 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2165 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2166 most recently will be fetched.
2168 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2169 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2170 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2173 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2174 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2175 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2176 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2177 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2178 Which article this is is controlled by the
2179 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2185 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2188 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2191 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2193 @item unseen-or-unread
2194 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2195 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2199 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2203 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2204 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2206 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2207 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2208 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2209 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2213 @node Subscription Commands
2214 @section Subscription Commands
2215 @cindex subscription
2223 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2224 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2225 Toggle subscription to the current group
2226 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2232 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2233 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2234 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2235 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2241 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2242 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2243 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2249 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2250 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2253 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2254 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2255 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2256 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2257 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2263 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2264 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2268 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2269 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2272 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2273 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2274 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2275 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2276 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2277 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2278 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2279 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2280 @file{.newsrc} file.
2284 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2294 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2295 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2296 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2297 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2298 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2299 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2304 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2305 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2306 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2310 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2311 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2312 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2314 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2315 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2316 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2317 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2318 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2319 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2326 @section Group Levels
2330 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2331 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2332 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2333 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2334 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2336 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2342 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2343 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2344 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2345 prompted for a level.
2348 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2349 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2350 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2351 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2352 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2353 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2354 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2355 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2356 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2357 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2358 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2359 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2360 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2361 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2362 reasons of efficiency.
2364 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2365 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2367 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2368 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2369 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2370 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2371 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2372 groups are hidden, in a way.
2374 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2375 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2376 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2377 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2378 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2379 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2381 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2382 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2383 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2384 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2385 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2386 list of killed groups.)
2388 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2389 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2390 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2392 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2393 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2394 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2395 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2396 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2397 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2398 relevant valid ranges.
2400 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2401 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2402 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2403 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2404 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2405 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2408 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2409 one with the best level.
2411 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2412 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2413 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2416 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2417 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2418 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2419 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2422 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2423 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2424 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2425 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2427 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2428 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2429 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2430 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2431 to 5. The default is 6.
2435 @section Group Score
2440 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2441 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2442 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2445 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2446 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2447 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2448 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2449 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2450 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2451 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2452 least significant part.))
2454 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2455 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2456 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2457 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2458 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2459 action after each summary exit, you can add
2460 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2461 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2462 slow things down somewhat.
2465 @node Marking Groups
2466 @section Marking Groups
2467 @cindex marking groups
2469 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2470 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2471 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2472 bidding on those groups.
2474 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2475 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2476 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2484 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2485 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2491 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2492 Remove the mark from the current group
2493 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2497 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2498 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2502 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2503 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2507 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2508 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2512 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2513 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2514 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2517 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2519 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2520 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2521 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2522 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2523 the command to be executed.
2526 @node Foreign Groups
2527 @section Foreign Groups
2528 @cindex foreign groups
2530 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2531 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2532 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2533 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2540 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2541 @cindex making groups
2542 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2543 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2544 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2548 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2549 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2550 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2554 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2555 @cindex renaming groups
2556 Rename the current group to something else
2557 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2558 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2564 @findex gnus-group-customize
2565 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2569 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2570 @cindex renaming groups
2571 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2572 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2576 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2577 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2578 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2582 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2583 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2584 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2588 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2590 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2591 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2596 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2597 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2601 @cindex (ding) archive
2602 @cindex archive group
2603 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2604 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2605 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2606 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2607 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2608 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2609 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2613 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2615 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2616 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2617 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2618 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2622 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2624 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2625 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2626 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2630 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2631 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2633 Make a group based on some file or other
2634 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2635 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2636 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2637 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2638 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2639 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2640 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2641 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2642 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2646 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2647 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2648 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2649 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2653 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2657 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2658 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2659 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2660 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2661 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2662 @xref{Web Searches}.
2664 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2665 to a particular group by using a match string like
2666 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2670 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2671 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2672 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2676 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2677 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2678 This function will delete the current group
2679 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2680 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2681 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2682 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2683 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2687 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2688 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2689 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2693 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2694 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2695 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2698 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2701 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2702 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2703 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2704 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2705 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2706 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2710 @node Group Parameters
2711 @section Group Parameters
2712 @cindex group parameters
2714 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2715 Here's an example group parameter list:
2718 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2722 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2723 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2724 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2725 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2727 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2728 is an alist of regexps and values.
2730 The following group parameters can be used:
2735 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2738 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2741 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2742 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2743 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2744 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2745 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2747 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2748 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2749 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2750 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2751 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2752 list address instead.
2754 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2758 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2761 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2764 It is totally ignored
2765 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2766 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2768 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2769 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2770 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2771 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2772 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2774 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2775 @cindex mail list groups
2776 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2777 entering summary buffer.
2779 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2784 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2785 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2786 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2787 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2788 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2789 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2790 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2791 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2794 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2795 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2798 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2799 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2803 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2804 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2805 of whether it has any unread articles.
2807 @item broken-reply-to
2808 @cindex broken-reply-to
2809 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2810 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2811 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2812 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2813 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2814 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2818 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2819 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2823 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2824 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2825 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2830 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2831 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2832 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2833 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2834 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2835 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2836 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2838 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2839 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2840 doesn't accept articles.
2844 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2845 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2846 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2848 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2851 @cindex total-expire
2852 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2853 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2854 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2855 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2858 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2862 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2863 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2864 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2865 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2866 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2867 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2868 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2871 @cindex expiry-target
2872 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2873 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2876 @cindex score file group parameter
2877 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2878 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2879 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2882 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2883 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2884 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2885 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2888 @cindex admin-address
2889 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2890 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2891 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2892 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2896 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2897 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2901 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2904 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2905 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2908 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2912 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2914 Here are some examples:
2918 Display only unread articles.
2921 Display everything except expirable articles.
2923 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2924 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2928 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2929 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2930 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2931 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2932 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, @code{unseen} and @code{recent}.
2936 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2937 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2938 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2942 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2943 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2944 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
2948 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2949 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2950 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2952 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
2954 @item ignored-charsets
2955 @cindex ignored-charset
2956 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
2957 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
2958 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
2960 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
2963 @cindex posting-style
2964 You can store additional posting style information for this group
2965 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2966 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2967 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2968 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2970 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2971 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2972 like this in the group parameters:
2977 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
2978 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2983 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
2984 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
2988 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
2989 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
2990 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2991 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2992 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2996 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
2997 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
2998 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
2999 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3001 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3002 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3003 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3004 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3007 if address \"sender\" \"sieve-admin@@extundo.com\" @{
3008 fileinto \"INBOX.list.sieve\";
3012 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3013 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3015 @item (agent parameters)
3016 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of the its parameters
3017 to control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3018 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3019 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3020 minimize the configuration effort.
3022 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3023 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3024 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3025 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3026 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3027 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3028 @code{eval}ed there.
3030 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer.
3031 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3032 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3033 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3034 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3035 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3036 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3037 @file{~/.gnus} file:
3040 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3043 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3044 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3045 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3048 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3051 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3052 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3053 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3054 into the group parameters for the group.
3056 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3057 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3058 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
3059 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the (meaningless) result of the
3062 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3063 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3064 following is added to a group parameter
3067 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3068 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3071 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3076 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
3077 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
3078 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
3079 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
3080 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
3082 @vindex gnus-parameters
3083 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3084 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect. For
3088 (setq gnus-parameters
3090 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3091 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3092 (gnus-summary-line-format
3093 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3097 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3101 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3105 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3108 String value of parameters will be subjected to regexp substitution, as
3109 the @code{to-group} example shows.
3112 @node Listing Groups
3113 @section Listing Groups
3114 @cindex group listing
3116 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3124 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3125 List all groups that have unread articles
3126 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3127 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3128 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3129 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3136 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3137 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3138 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3139 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3140 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3141 unsubscribed groups).
3145 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3146 List all unread groups on a specific level
3147 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3148 with no unread articles.
3152 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3153 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3154 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3155 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3160 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3161 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3165 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3166 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3167 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3171 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3172 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3176 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3177 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3178 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3179 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3180 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3181 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3182 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3183 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3187 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3188 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3189 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3193 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3194 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3195 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3199 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3200 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3204 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3205 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3209 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3210 List groups limited within the current selection
3211 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
3215 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3216 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3220 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3221 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3225 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3226 @cindex visible group parameter
3227 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3228 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3229 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3230 get the same effect.
3232 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3233 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3234 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3235 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3236 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3239 @node Sorting Groups
3240 @section Sorting Groups
3241 @cindex sorting groups
3243 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3244 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3245 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3246 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3247 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3248 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3253 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3254 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3255 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3257 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3258 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3259 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3261 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3262 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3263 Sort by group level.
3265 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3266 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3267 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3269 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3270 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3271 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3272 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3274 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3275 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3276 Sort by number of unread articles.
3278 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3279 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3280 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3282 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3283 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3284 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3289 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3290 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3294 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3295 some sorting criteria:
3299 @kindex G S a (Group)
3300 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3301 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3302 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3305 @kindex G S u (Group)
3306 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3307 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3308 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3311 @kindex G S l (Group)
3312 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3313 Sort the group buffer by group level
3314 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3317 @kindex G S v (Group)
3318 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3319 Sort the group buffer by group score
3320 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3323 @kindex G S r (Group)
3324 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3325 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3326 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3329 @kindex G S m (Group)
3330 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3331 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3332 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3335 @kindex G S n (Group)
3336 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3337 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3338 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3342 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3343 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3345 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3346 commands will sort in reverse order.
3348 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3352 @kindex G P a (Group)
3353 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3354 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3355 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3358 @kindex G P u (Group)
3359 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3360 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3361 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3364 @kindex G P l (Group)
3365 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3366 Sort the groups by group level
3367 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3370 @kindex G P v (Group)
3371 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3372 Sort the groups by group score
3373 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3376 @kindex G P r (Group)
3377 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3378 Sort the groups by group rank
3379 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3382 @kindex G P m (Group)
3383 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3384 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3385 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3388 @kindex G P n (Group)
3389 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3390 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3391 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3394 @kindex G P s (Group)
3395 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3396 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3400 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3404 @node Group Maintenance
3405 @section Group Maintenance
3406 @cindex bogus groups
3411 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3412 Find bogus groups and delete them
3413 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3417 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3418 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3419 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3420 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3421 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3425 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3426 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3427 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3428 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3429 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3430 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3433 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3434 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3435 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3436 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3441 @node Browse Foreign Server
3442 @section Browse Foreign Server
3443 @cindex foreign servers
3444 @cindex browsing servers
3449 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3450 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3451 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3452 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3455 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3456 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3457 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3458 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3460 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3465 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3466 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3470 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3471 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3474 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3475 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3476 Enter the current group and display the first article
3477 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3480 @kindex RET (Browse)
3481 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3482 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3486 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3487 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3488 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3494 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3495 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3499 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3500 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3504 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3505 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3506 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3511 @section Exiting Gnus
3512 @cindex exiting Gnus
3514 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3519 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3520 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3521 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3522 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3526 @findex gnus-group-exit
3527 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3528 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3532 @findex gnus-group-quit
3533 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3534 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3537 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3538 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3539 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3540 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3541 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3542 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3548 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3549 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3550 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3556 @section Group Topics
3559 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3560 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3561 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3562 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3563 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3564 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3568 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3569 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3580 2: alt.religion.emacs
3583 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3585 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3586 13: comp.sources.unix
3589 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3591 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3592 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3593 is a toggling command.)
3595 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3596 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3597 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3598 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3601 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3602 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3603 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3606 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3610 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3611 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3612 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3613 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3614 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3618 @node Topic Commands
3619 @subsection Topic Commands
3620 @cindex topic commands
3622 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3623 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3624 definitions slightly.
3626 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3627 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3628 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3629 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3630 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3631 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3633 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3640 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3641 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3642 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3646 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3648 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3649 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3650 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3651 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3654 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3655 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3656 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3657 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3661 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3662 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3663 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3664 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3670 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3671 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3672 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3676 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3677 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3678 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3681 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3682 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3683 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3684 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3685 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3687 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3688 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3692 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3693 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3700 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3702 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3703 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3704 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3705 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3706 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3707 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3711 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3717 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3718 Move the current group to some other topic
3719 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3720 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3724 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3725 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3729 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3730 Copy the current group to some other topic
3731 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3732 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3736 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3737 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3738 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3742 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3743 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3744 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3748 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3749 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3750 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3751 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3752 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3753 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3754 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3757 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3758 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3762 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3763 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3764 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3768 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3769 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3770 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3774 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3775 Toggle hiding empty topics
3776 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3780 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3781 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3782 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3783 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3786 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3787 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3788 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3789 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3790 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3793 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3794 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3795 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3796 expiry process (if any)
3797 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3801 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3802 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3805 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3806 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3807 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3811 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3812 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3813 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3816 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3817 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3818 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3821 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3822 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3823 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3827 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3828 @cindex group parameters
3829 @cindex topic parameters
3831 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3832 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3837 @node Topic Variables
3838 @subsection Topic Variables
3839 @cindex topic variables
3841 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3842 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3844 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3845 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3846 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3859 Number of groups in the topic.
3861 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3863 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3866 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3867 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3868 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3871 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3872 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3874 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3875 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3876 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3880 @subsection Topic Sorting
3881 @cindex topic sorting
3883 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3889 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3890 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3891 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3892 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3895 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3896 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3897 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3898 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3901 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3902 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3903 Sort the current topic by group level
3904 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3907 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3908 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3909 Sort the current topic by group score
3910 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3913 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3914 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3915 Sort the current topic by group rank
3916 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3919 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3920 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3921 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
3922 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3925 @kindex T S e (Topic)
3926 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
3927 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
3928 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
3931 @kindex T S s (Topic)
3932 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
3933 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
3934 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
3935 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
3939 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
3940 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
3944 @node Topic Topology
3945 @subsection Topic Topology
3946 @cindex topic topology
3949 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3956 2: alt.religion.emacs
3959 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3961 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3962 13: comp.sources.unix
3966 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3967 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3968 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3973 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3974 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3978 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3979 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3980 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3981 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3982 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3983 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3985 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3986 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3987 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3990 @node Topic Parameters
3991 @subsection Topic Parameters
3992 @cindex topic parameters
3994 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
3995 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
3996 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
3997 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
3998 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4000 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4005 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4006 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4007 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4010 @item subscribe-level
4011 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4012 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4013 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4017 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4018 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4019 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4020 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4027 2: alt.religion.emacs
4031 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4033 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4034 13: comp.sources.unix
4039 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4040 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4041 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4042 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4043 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4044 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4046 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4047 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4048 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4049 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4050 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4052 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4053 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4054 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4055 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4056 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4057 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4058 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4059 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4062 @node Misc Group Stuff
4063 @section Misc Group Stuff
4066 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4067 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4068 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4069 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4070 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4077 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4078 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4079 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4083 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4084 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4085 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4086 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4087 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4088 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4089 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4093 @findex gnus-group-mail
4094 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4095 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4096 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4097 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4101 @findex gnus-group-news
4102 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4103 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4104 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4106 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4107 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4108 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4109 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4110 for this to work though.
4114 Variables for the group buffer:
4118 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4119 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4120 is called after the group buffer has been
4123 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4124 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4125 is called after the group buffer is
4126 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4129 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4130 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4131 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4132 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4134 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4135 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4136 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4137 whether they are empty or not.
4139 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4140 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4141 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
4142 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4146 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4147 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4150 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4151 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4152 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4153 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names. It
4154 is used to show non-@acronym{ASCII} group names. @code{((".*"
4155 utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported, otherwise the
4156 default is @code{nil}.
4160 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4161 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
4166 @node Scanning New Messages
4167 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4168 @cindex new messages
4169 @cindex scanning new news
4175 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4176 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4177 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4178 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4179 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4180 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4185 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4186 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4187 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4188 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4189 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4190 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4191 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4193 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4194 @cindex activating groups
4196 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4197 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4202 @findex gnus-group-restart
4203 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4204 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4205 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4209 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4210 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4212 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4213 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4217 @node Group Information
4218 @subsection Group Information
4219 @cindex group information
4220 @cindex information on groups
4227 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
4228 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
4231 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} for the current group
4232 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the @acronym{FAQ}
4233 from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on
4234 a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
4235 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
4236 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be
4237 used for fetching the file.
4239 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
4240 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
4244 @findex gnus-group-fetch-charter
4245 @vindex gnus-group-charter-alist
4247 Try to open the charter for the current group in a web browser
4248 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-charter}). Query for a group if given a
4251 Gnus will use @code{gnus-group-charter-alist} to find the location of
4252 the charter. If no location is known, Gnus will fetch the control
4253 messages for the group, which in some cases includes the charter.
4257 @findex gnus-group-fetch-control
4258 @vindex gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url
4259 @cindex control message
4260 Fetch the control messages for the group from the archive at
4261 @code{ftp.isc.org} (@code{gnus-group-fetch-control}). Query for a
4262 group if given a prefix argument.
4264 If @code{gnus-group-fetch-control-use-browse-url} is non-@code{nil},
4265 Gnus will open the control messages in a browser using
4266 @code{browse-url}. Otherwise they are fetched using @code{ange-ftp}
4267 and displayed in an ephemeral group.
4269 Note that the control messages are compressed. To use this command
4270 you need to turn on @code{auto-compression-mode} (@pxref{Compressed
4271 Files, ,Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Manual}).
4275 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4277 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4278 @cindex describing groups
4279 @cindex group description
4280 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4281 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4282 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4286 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4287 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4288 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4295 @findex gnus-version
4296 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4300 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4301 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4304 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4307 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4308 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4312 @node Group Timestamp
4313 @subsection Group Timestamp
4315 @cindex group timestamps
4317 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4318 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4319 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4322 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4325 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4327 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4328 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4331 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4332 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4335 This will result in lines looking like:
4338 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4339 0: custom 19961002T012713
4342 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4343 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4347 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4348 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4351 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4352 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4356 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4357 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4358 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4359 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4361 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4367 @subsection File Commands
4368 @cindex file commands
4374 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4375 @vindex gnus-init-file
4376 @cindex reading init file
4377 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4378 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4382 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4383 @cindex saving .newsrc
4384 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4385 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4386 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4389 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4390 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4391 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4396 @node Sieve Commands
4397 @subsection Sieve Commands
4398 @cindex group sieve commands
4400 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4401 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4402 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4403 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4404 script that can be transfered to the server somehow.
4406 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4407 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4408 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4409 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4410 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4411 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4412 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4413 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4414 regenerate the Sieve script.
4416 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4417 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4418 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4419 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4420 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4421 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4422 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4423 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4424 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4425 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4428 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4429 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4434 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4440 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4441 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4442 @cindex generating sieve script
4443 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4444 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4448 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4449 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4450 @cindex updating sieve script
4451 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4452 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4453 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4458 @node Summary Buffer
4459 @chapter Summary Buffer
4460 @cindex summary buffer
4462 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4463 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4465 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4466 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4468 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4471 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4472 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4473 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4474 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4475 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4476 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4477 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4478 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4479 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4480 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4481 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4482 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4483 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4484 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4485 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4486 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4487 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4488 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4489 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4490 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4491 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4492 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4493 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4494 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4495 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4496 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4497 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4498 or reselecting the current group.
4499 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4500 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4501 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4502 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4506 @node Summary Buffer Format
4507 @section Summary Buffer Format
4508 @cindex summary buffer format
4512 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4513 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4514 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4520 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4521 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4522 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4523 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4526 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4527 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4528 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4529 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4530 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4531 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4532 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4533 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4534 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4535 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4536 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4539 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4540 'mail-extract-address-components)
4543 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4544 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4545 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4546 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4549 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4550 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4552 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4553 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4554 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4555 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4556 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4558 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4559 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4560 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4561 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4562 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4563 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4565 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4567 The following format specification characters and extended format
4568 specification(s) are understood:
4574 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4575 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4577 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4578 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4579 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4581 Full @code{From} header.
4583 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4585 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4588 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4589 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4590 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4591 may be more thorough.
4593 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4596 Number of lines in the article.
4598 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4599 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4601 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4602 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4604 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4606 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4607 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4620 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4621 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4622 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4623 line-drawing glyphs.
4625 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4626 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4627 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4628 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4630 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4631 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4632 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4633 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4635 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4636 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4637 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4638 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4640 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4641 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4642 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4644 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4645 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4646 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4648 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4649 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4650 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4652 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4653 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4654 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4659 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4660 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4662 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4663 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4665 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4666 for adopted articles.
4668 One space for each thread level.
4670 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4672 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4675 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4676 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4677 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4680 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4682 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4683 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4684 default level. If the difference between
4685 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4686 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4694 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4696 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4702 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4703 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4705 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4706 article has any children.
4712 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4713 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4715 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4716 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4717 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4718 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4719 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4720 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4723 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4724 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4725 There can only be one such area.
4727 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4728 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4729 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4730 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4731 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4732 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4734 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4735 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4737 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4740 @node To From Newsgroups
4741 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4745 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4746 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4747 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4748 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4749 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4753 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4754 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4755 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4759 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4760 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4763 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4764 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4767 @findex gnus-extra-header
4768 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4769 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4770 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4773 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4777 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4778 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4779 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4780 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4781 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4782 headers are used instead.
4786 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4787 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4788 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
4789 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
4790 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
4791 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
4794 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4795 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4796 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4797 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4799 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
4803 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4805 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4806 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4807 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
4808 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4812 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
4815 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
4816 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
4819 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4820 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4821 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
4827 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4828 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4831 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4832 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4834 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4835 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4836 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4837 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4839 Here are the elements you can play with:
4845 Unprefixed group name.
4847 Current article number.
4849 Current article score.
4853 Number of unread articles in this group.
4855 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4858 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4859 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4860 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4861 and no unselected ones.
4863 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4864 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4866 Subject of the current article.
4868 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4870 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4872 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4874 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4876 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4878 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4882 @node Summary Highlighting
4883 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4887 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4888 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4889 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4890 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4891 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4893 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4894 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4895 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4896 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4898 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4899 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4900 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4901 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4903 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4904 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4905 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4906 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4907 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4908 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4911 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4912 ((> score default) . bold))
4914 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4915 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4919 @node Summary Maneuvering
4920 @section Summary Maneuvering
4921 @cindex summary movement
4923 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4924 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4926 None of these commands select articles.
4931 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4932 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4933 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4934 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4935 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4939 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4940 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4941 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4942 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4943 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4946 @kindex G g (Summary)
4947 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4948 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4949 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4952 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4953 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4954 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4955 to the group buffer.
4957 Variables related to summary movement:
4961 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4962 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4963 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4964 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4965 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4966 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4967 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4968 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
4969 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
4970 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
4971 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
4972 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
4973 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
4974 @pxref{Group Levels}.
4976 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4977 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4978 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4979 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4980 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4981 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4982 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4984 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4986 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4987 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4988 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4989 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4990 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4992 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4993 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4994 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4995 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4996 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4997 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4998 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4999 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5002 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5003 the given number of lines from the top.
5008 @node Choosing Articles
5009 @section Choosing Articles
5010 @cindex selecting articles
5013 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5014 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5018 @node Choosing Commands
5019 @subsection Choosing Commands
5021 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5022 and they all select and display an article.
5024 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5025 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5029 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5030 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5031 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5032 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5034 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5035 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5036 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5041 @kindex G n (Summary)
5042 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5043 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5044 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5049 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5050 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5051 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5056 @kindex G N (Summary)
5057 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5058 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5063 @kindex G P (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5065 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5068 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5069 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5070 Go to the next article with the same subject
5071 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5074 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5075 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5076 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5077 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5081 @kindex G f (Summary)
5083 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5084 Go to the first unread article
5085 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5089 @kindex G b (Summary)
5091 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5092 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5093 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5094 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5099 @kindex G l (Summary)
5100 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5101 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5104 @kindex G o (Summary)
5105 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5107 @cindex article history
5108 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5109 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5110 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5111 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5112 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5113 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5118 @kindex G j (Summary)
5119 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5120 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5121 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5126 @node Choosing Variables
5127 @subsection Choosing Variables
5129 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5132 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5133 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5134 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5135 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5136 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5137 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5139 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5140 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5141 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
5142 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article. If you would
5143 like each article to be saved in the Agent as you read it, putting
5144 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this hook will do so.
5146 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5147 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5148 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5149 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5150 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5151 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5152 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5153 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5154 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
5155 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5156 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5157 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5158 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5159 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5164 @node Paging the Article
5165 @section Scrolling the Article
5166 @cindex article scrolling
5171 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5172 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5173 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5174 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5175 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5177 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5178 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5179 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5180 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5181 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5182 what is considered uninteresting with
5183 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5184 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5187 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5188 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5189 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5192 @kindex RET (Summary)
5193 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5194 Scroll the current article one line forward
5195 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5198 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5199 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5200 Scroll the current article one line backward
5201 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5205 @kindex A g (Summary)
5207 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5208 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5209 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5210 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
5211 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
5212 the way it came from the server.
5214 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5215 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5216 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5219 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5224 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5229 @kindex A < (Summary)
5230 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5231 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5232 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5237 @kindex A > (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5239 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5243 @kindex A s (Summary)
5245 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5246 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5247 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5251 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5252 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5257 @node Reply Followup and Post
5258 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5261 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5262 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5263 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5264 * Canceling and Superseding::
5268 @node Summary Mail Commands
5269 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5271 @cindex composing mail
5273 Commands for composing a mail message:
5279 @kindex S r (Summary)
5281 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5282 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5283 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5284 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5285 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5290 @kindex S R (Summary)
5291 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5292 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5293 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5294 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5295 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5298 @kindex S w (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5300 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5301 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5302 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5303 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5304 present, that's used instead.
5307 @kindex S W (Summary)
5308 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5309 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5310 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5311 the process/prefix convention.
5314 @kindex S v (Summary)
5315 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5316 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5317 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5318 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5319 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5320 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5323 @kindex S V (Summary)
5324 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5325 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5326 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5327 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5330 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5331 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5332 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5333 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5334 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5335 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5336 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5337 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5340 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5341 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5342 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5343 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5344 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5348 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5349 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5351 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5352 Forward the current article to some other person
5353 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5354 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5355 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5356 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5357 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5358 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5359 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5360 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5361 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5367 @kindex S m (Summary)
5368 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5369 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5370 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5371 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5372 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5377 @kindex S i (Summary)
5378 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5379 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5380 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5381 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5383 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5384 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5385 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5386 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5387 for this to work though.
5390 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5391 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5392 @cindex bouncing mail
5393 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5394 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5395 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5396 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5397 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5398 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5399 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5400 very well fail, though.
5403 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5404 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5405 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5406 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5407 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5408 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5409 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5410 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5411 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5412 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5414 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5415 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5416 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5417 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5418 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5420 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5421 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5424 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5425 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5427 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5428 if it were a new message before resending.
5431 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5432 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5433 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5434 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5435 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5438 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5439 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5440 @cindex crossposting
5441 @cindex excessive crossposting
5442 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5443 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5445 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5446 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5447 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5448 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5449 command understands the process/prefix convention
5450 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5454 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5455 Manual}, for more information.
5458 @node Summary Post Commands
5459 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5461 @cindex composing news
5463 Commands for posting a news article:
5469 @kindex S p (Summary)
5470 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5471 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5472 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5473 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5474 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5479 @kindex S f (Summary)
5480 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5481 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5482 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5486 @kindex S F (Summary)
5488 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5489 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5490 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5491 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5492 process/prefix convention.
5495 @kindex S n (Summary)
5496 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5497 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5498 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5501 @kindex S N (Summary)
5502 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5503 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5504 message through mail and include the original message
5505 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5506 the process/prefix convention.
5509 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5510 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5511 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5512 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5513 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5514 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5515 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5516 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5517 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5518 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5519 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5520 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5521 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5524 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5525 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5527 @cindex making digests
5528 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5529 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
5530 process/prefix convention.
5533 @kindex S u (Summary)
5534 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5535 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5536 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5537 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5540 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5541 Manual}, for more information.
5544 @node Summary Message Commands
5545 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5549 @kindex S y (Summary)
5550 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5551 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5552 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5553 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5554 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5559 @node Canceling and Superseding
5560 @subsection Canceling Articles
5561 @cindex canceling articles
5562 @cindex superseding articles
5564 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5565 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5567 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5569 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5571 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5572 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5573 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5574 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5575 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5576 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5578 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5579 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5582 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5583 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5584 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5586 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5587 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5588 message, Message Manual}).
5590 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5591 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5592 your original article.
5594 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5596 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5597 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5598 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5601 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5602 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5603 have posted almost the same article twice.
5605 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5606 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5607 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5608 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5609 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5610 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5611 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5612 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5613 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5614 canceled/superseded.
5616 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5618 @node Delayed Articles
5619 @section Delayed Articles
5620 @cindex delayed sending
5621 @cindex send delayed
5623 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5624 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5625 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5626 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5629 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5632 @findex gnus-delay-article
5633 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5634 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5635 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5636 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5640 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5641 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5642 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5643 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5646 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5647 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5648 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5651 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5652 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5653 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5654 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5655 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5656 that means a time tomorrow.
5659 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5660 couple of variables:
5663 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5664 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5665 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5666 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5668 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5669 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5670 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5671 formats described above.
5673 @item gnus-delay-group
5674 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5675 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5676 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5677 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5679 @item gnus-delay-header
5680 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5681 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5682 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5683 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5686 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5687 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5688 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5689 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5690 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5692 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5693 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5694 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5695 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5696 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5697 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5698 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5701 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5702 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5703 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5704 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5705 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5706 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5707 argument is ignored.
5709 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5710 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5711 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5715 @node Marking Articles
5716 @section Marking Articles
5717 @cindex article marking
5718 @cindex article ticking
5721 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5723 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5724 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5725 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5727 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5730 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
5731 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
5732 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
5736 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
5740 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
5741 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
5742 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
5746 @node Unread Articles
5747 @subsection Unread Articles
5749 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
5754 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
5755 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
5757 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
5758 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
5759 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
5760 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
5761 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
5762 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
5763 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
5766 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
5767 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
5769 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
5770 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
5771 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
5772 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
5776 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
5777 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
5779 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
5784 @subsection Read Articles
5785 @cindex expirable mark
5787 All the following marks mark articles as read.
5792 @vindex gnus-del-mark
5793 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
5794 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
5797 @vindex gnus-read-mark
5798 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
5801 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
5802 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
5803 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
5806 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
5807 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
5810 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
5811 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
5814 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
5815 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
5818 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
5819 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
5822 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
5823 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
5826 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
5827 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
5830 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
5831 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
5835 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
5836 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
5837 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
5841 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
5842 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
5844 One more special mark, though:
5848 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
5849 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
5851 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
5852 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
5853 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
5854 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
5860 @subsection Other Marks
5861 @cindex process mark
5864 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
5870 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
5871 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
5872 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
5873 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
5874 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
5877 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
5878 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
5879 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
5880 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
5883 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
5884 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
5885 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
5888 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5889 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5890 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5893 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5894 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5895 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5896 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5899 @vindex gnus-recent-mark
5900 Articles that according to the server haven't been shown to the user
5901 before are marked with a @samp{N} in the second column
5902 (@code{gnus-recent-mark}). Note that not all servers support this
5903 mark, in which case it simply never appears. Compare with
5904 @code{gnus-unseen-mark}.
5907 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
5908 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
5909 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
5910 Compare with @code{gnus-recent-mark}.
5913 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
5914 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
5915 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
5916 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
5917 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
5921 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
5922 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
5923 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
5924 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
5925 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
5926 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
5929 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
5930 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
5931 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
5932 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
5933 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
5934 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
5938 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5939 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5940 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5941 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5942 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5945 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5946 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5947 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5948 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5949 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5950 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5954 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5955 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5956 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5958 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5959 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5960 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5964 @subsection Setting Marks
5965 @cindex setting marks
5967 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5972 @kindex M c (Summary)
5973 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5974 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5975 @cindex mark as unread
5976 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5977 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5983 @kindex M t (Summary)
5984 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5985 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5986 @xref{Article Caching}.
5991 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5992 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5993 Mark the current article as dormant
5994 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5998 @kindex M d (Summary)
6000 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6001 Mark the current article as read
6002 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6006 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6007 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6008 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6013 @kindex M k (Summary)
6014 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6015 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6016 and then select the next unread article
6017 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6021 @kindex M K (Summary)
6022 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6023 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6024 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6025 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6028 @kindex M C (Summary)
6029 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6030 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6031 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6034 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6035 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6036 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6037 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6040 @kindex M H (Summary)
6041 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6042 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6043 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6046 @kindex M h (Summary)
6047 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6048 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6049 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6052 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6053 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6054 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6055 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6058 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6060 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6061 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6065 @kindex M e (Summary)
6067 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6068 Mark the current article as expirable
6069 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6072 @kindex M b (Summary)
6073 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6074 Set a bookmark in the current article
6075 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6078 @kindex M B (Summary)
6079 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6080 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6081 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6084 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6085 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6086 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6087 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6090 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6091 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6092 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6093 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6096 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6097 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6098 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6099 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6100 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6103 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6104 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6105 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6106 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6107 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6108 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6109 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6110 The default is @code{t}.
6113 @node Generic Marking Commands
6114 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6116 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6117 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6118 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6119 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6120 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6123 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6124 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6127 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6128 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6129 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6130 to list in this manual.
6132 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6133 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6134 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6135 article, you could say something like:
6139 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6140 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6141 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6149 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6150 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6154 @node Setting Process Marks
6155 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6156 @cindex setting process marks
6158 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6159 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6160 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6161 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6162 commands into the cache. For more information,
6163 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6170 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6171 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6172 Mark the current article with the process mark
6173 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6174 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6178 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6179 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6180 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6181 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6184 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6185 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6186 Remove the process mark from all articles
6187 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6190 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6191 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6192 Invert the list of process marked articles
6193 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6196 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6197 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6198 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6199 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6202 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6203 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6204 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6205 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6208 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6209 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6210 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6213 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6214 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6215 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6218 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6220 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6221 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6224 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6226 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6227 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6230 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6231 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6232 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6233 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6236 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6237 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6238 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6241 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6242 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6243 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6244 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6247 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6249 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6252 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6253 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6254 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6255 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6258 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6259 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6260 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6261 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6264 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6266 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6267 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6270 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6271 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6272 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6273 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6277 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6278 set process marks based on article body contents.
6285 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6286 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6287 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6290 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
6291 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
6292 additional articles.
6298 @kindex / / (Summary)
6299 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6300 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6301 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6305 @kindex / a (Summary)
6306 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6307 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6308 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6312 @kindex / x (Summary)
6313 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6314 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6315 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6316 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6321 @kindex / u (Summary)
6323 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6324 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6325 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6326 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6327 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6330 @kindex / m (Summary)
6331 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6332 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6333 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6336 @kindex / t (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6338 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6339 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6340 articles younger than that number of days.
6343 @kindex / n (Summary)
6344 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6345 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
6346 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
6347 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6350 @kindex / w (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6352 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6353 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6357 @kindex / . (Summary)
6358 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6359 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6360 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6363 @kindex / v (Summary)
6364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6365 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6366 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6369 @kindex / p (Summary)
6370 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6371 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6372 group parameter predicate
6373 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6374 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6377 @kindex / r (Summary)
6378 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6379 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6380 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6385 @kindex M S (Summary)
6386 @kindex / E (Summary)
6387 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6388 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6389 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6392 @kindex / D (Summary)
6393 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6394 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6395 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6398 @kindex / * (Summary)
6399 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6400 Include all cached articles in the limit
6401 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6404 @kindex / d (Summary)
6405 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6406 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6407 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6410 @kindex / M (Summary)
6411 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6412 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6415 @kindex / T (Summary)
6416 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6417 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6420 @kindex / c (Summary)
6421 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6422 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6423 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6426 @kindex / C (Summary)
6427 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6428 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6429 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6430 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6433 @kindex / N (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6435 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6436 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6439 @kindex / o (Summary)
6440 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6441 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6442 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6450 @cindex article threading
6452 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6453 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6454 hierarchical fashion.
6456 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6457 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6458 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6459 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6460 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6461 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6462 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6464 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6468 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6471 A tree-like article structure.
6474 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6477 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6478 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6479 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6480 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6481 called loose threads.
6483 @item thread gathering
6484 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6486 @item sparse threads
6487 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6488 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6494 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6495 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6499 @node Customizing Threading
6500 @subsection Customizing Threading
6501 @cindex customizing threading
6504 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6505 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6506 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6507 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6512 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6515 @cindex loose threads
6518 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6519 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6520 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6521 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6522 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6523 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6525 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6526 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6527 There are four possible values:
6531 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6532 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6533 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6534 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6535 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6540 @cindex adopting articles
6545 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6546 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6547 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6548 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6551 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6552 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6553 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6554 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6555 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6556 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6557 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6558 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6559 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6560 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6563 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6564 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6565 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6569 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6570 display them after one another.
6573 Don't gather loose threads.
6576 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6577 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6578 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6579 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6580 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6581 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6582 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6583 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6584 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6585 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6586 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6588 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6589 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6590 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6593 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6594 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6595 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6596 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6597 simplification is used.
6599 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6600 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6601 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6602 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6604 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6606 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6612 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6613 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6614 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6615 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6620 (mapconcat 'identity
6621 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6623 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6626 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6629 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6630 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6631 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6632 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6633 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6634 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6636 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6639 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6640 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6641 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6643 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6644 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6647 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6648 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6649 Remove excessive whitespace.
6651 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6652 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6653 Remove all whitespace.
6656 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6659 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6660 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6661 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6662 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6663 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6664 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6665 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6666 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6668 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6669 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6670 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6671 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6672 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6673 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6674 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6675 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6676 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6680 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6681 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6682 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6683 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6685 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6686 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6687 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6690 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6694 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6695 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6701 @node Filling In Threads
6702 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6705 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6706 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
6707 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
6708 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
6709 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
6710 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
6711 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
6712 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
6713 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
6714 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
6715 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
6716 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
6719 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
6720 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
6721 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
6723 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6724 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
6725 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
6728 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
6729 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
6730 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
6731 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
6732 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
6733 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
6734 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
6735 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
6736 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
6737 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
6738 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
6739 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
6740 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
6741 @code{nil} by default.
6743 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
6744 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
6745 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
6746 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
6747 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
6748 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
6749 web-based groups, like the @code{nnultimate} groups.
6751 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
6752 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
6753 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
6758 @node More Threading
6759 @subsubsection More Threading
6762 @item gnus-show-threads
6763 @vindex gnus-show-threads
6764 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
6765 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
6766 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
6767 slower and more awkward.
6769 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6770 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6771 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
6774 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
6775 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
6776 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
6781 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
6782 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
6783 gnus-article-unseen-p))
6786 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
6787 unread, but you get my drift.)
6790 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
6791 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
6792 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
6793 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
6794 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
6795 threads are expunged.
6797 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
6798 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
6799 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
6802 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6803 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
6804 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
6805 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
6806 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
6807 result in a new thread.
6809 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
6810 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
6811 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
6814 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6815 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
6816 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
6817 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
6818 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
6819 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
6820 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
6821 Setting this variable to an alternate value
6822 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
6823 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
6824 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
6829 @node Low-Level Threading
6830 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
6834 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
6835 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
6836 Hook run before parsing any headers.
6838 @item gnus-alter-header-function
6839 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
6840 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
6841 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
6842 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
6843 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
6844 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
6845 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
6846 meaningful. Here's one example:
6849 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
6851 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
6852 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
6854 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
6856 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
6863 @node Thread Commands
6864 @subsection Thread Commands
6865 @cindex thread commands
6871 @kindex T k (Summary)
6872 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
6873 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
6874 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
6875 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
6876 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
6881 @kindex T l (Summary)
6882 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
6883 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
6884 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
6885 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
6888 @kindex T i (Summary)
6889 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
6890 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
6891 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
6894 @kindex T # (Summary)
6895 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6896 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
6897 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6900 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
6901 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6902 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
6903 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6906 @kindex T T (Summary)
6907 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
6908 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
6911 @kindex T s (Summary)
6912 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
6913 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
6914 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
6917 @kindex T h (Summary)
6918 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
6919 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
6922 @kindex T S (Summary)
6923 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
6924 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
6927 @kindex T H (Summary)
6928 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
6929 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
6932 @kindex T t (Summary)
6933 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
6934 Re-thread the current article's thread
6935 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
6936 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
6939 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
6940 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
6941 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
6942 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
6946 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
6947 understand the numeric prefix.
6952 @kindex T n (Summary)
6954 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
6956 @kindex M-down (Summary)
6957 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
6958 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
6961 @kindex T p (Summary)
6963 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
6965 @kindex M-up (Summary)
6966 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
6967 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
6970 @kindex T d (Summary)
6971 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
6972 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
6975 @kindex T u (Summary)
6976 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
6977 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
6980 @kindex T o (Summary)
6981 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
6982 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
6985 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
6986 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
6987 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
6988 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
6989 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
6990 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
6991 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
6992 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
6993 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
6994 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
6995 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
6996 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7000 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7001 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7003 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7004 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7005 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7006 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7007 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7008 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7009 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7010 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7011 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7012 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7013 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7014 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7015 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7016 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7018 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7019 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7020 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7021 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7022 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7023 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7024 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7025 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7027 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7028 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7029 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
7031 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7032 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7033 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7034 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7035 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7036 ascending article order.
7038 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7039 by number, you could do something like:
7042 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7043 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7044 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7045 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7048 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7049 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7050 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7051 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7052 which the articles arrived.
7054 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7058 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7060 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
7061 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7064 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7065 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7066 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7067 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7070 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7071 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7072 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7073 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7074 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7075 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7076 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7077 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7078 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7079 variable. It is very similar to the
7080 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7081 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7082 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7083 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7084 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7085 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7086 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7088 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7092 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7093 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7094 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7099 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7100 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7101 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7102 @cindex article pre-fetch
7105 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7106 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7107 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7108 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7109 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7111 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7112 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7114 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7115 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7116 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7117 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7118 connection is blocked.
7120 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7121 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7122 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7123 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7125 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7126 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7127 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7128 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7131 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7134 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7135 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7136 happen automatically.
7138 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7139 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7140 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7141 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7142 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7143 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7144 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7146 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7147 @findex gnus-async-read-p
7148 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7149 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7150 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7151 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7152 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which
7153 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7154 article data structure as the only parameter.
7156 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7157 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7160 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7161 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7162 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7163 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7166 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7169 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7170 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7171 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7173 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7174 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7175 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7176 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7180 Remove articles when they are read.
7183 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7186 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7188 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7189 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7190 @c from the next group.
7193 @node Article Caching
7194 @section Article Caching
7195 @cindex article caching
7198 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7199 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7200 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7201 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7202 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7204 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7206 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7207 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7208 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7209 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7210 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7211 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7212 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7213 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7215 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7216 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7217 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7218 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7219 as dormant, and don't worry.
7221 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7223 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7224 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7225 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7226 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7227 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7228 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7229 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7230 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7231 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7232 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7234 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7235 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7236 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7237 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7238 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7239 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7240 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7241 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7242 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7243 not then be downloaded by this command.
7245 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7246 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7247 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7248 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7249 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7250 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7252 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7253 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7254 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7255 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7256 variables, the group is not cached.
7258 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7259 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7260 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7261 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7262 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7263 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7264 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7265 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7266 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7269 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7270 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7271 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7272 where, isn't that cool?
7274 @node Persistent Articles
7275 @section Persistent Articles
7276 @cindex persistent articles
7278 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7279 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7280 useful in my opinion.
7282 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7283 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7284 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7285 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7286 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7287 the expiry going on at the news server.
7289 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7290 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7291 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7297 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7298 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7301 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7302 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7303 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7304 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7308 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7310 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7311 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7312 interested in persistent articles:
7315 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7319 @node Article Backlog
7320 @section Article Backlog
7322 @cindex article backlog
7324 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7325 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7326 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7327 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7328 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7329 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7330 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7331 increase memory usage some.
7333 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7334 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7335 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7336 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7337 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7338 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7339 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7341 The default value is 20.
7344 @node Saving Articles
7345 @section Saving Articles
7346 @cindex saving articles
7348 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7349 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7350 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7351 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7352 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7354 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7355 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7356 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7358 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7359 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7360 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7362 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7363 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7364 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7365 deleted before saving.
7371 @kindex O o (Summary)
7373 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7374 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7375 Save the current article using the default article saver
7376 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7379 @kindex O m (Summary)
7380 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7381 Save the current article in mail format
7382 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7385 @kindex O r (Summary)
7386 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7387 Save the current article in Rmail format
7388 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
7391 @kindex O f (Summary)
7392 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7393 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7394 Save the current article in plain file format
7395 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7398 @kindex O F (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7400 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7401 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7404 @kindex O b (Summary)
7405 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7406 Save the current article body in plain file format
7407 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7410 @kindex O h (Summary)
7411 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7412 Save the current article in mh folder format
7413 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7416 @kindex O v (Summary)
7417 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7418 Save the current article in a VM folder
7419 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7423 @kindex O p (Summary)
7425 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7426 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7427 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7428 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7429 complete headers in the piped output.
7432 @kindex O P (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7434 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7435 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7436 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7437 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7438 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7439 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7443 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7444 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7445 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7446 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7447 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7448 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7449 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7450 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7451 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7452 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7453 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7454 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7458 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7459 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7460 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
7461 functions below, or you can create your own.
7465 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7466 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7467 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7468 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7469 This is the default format, @dfn{Babyl}. Uses the function in the
7470 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7471 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7473 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7474 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7475 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7476 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7477 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7478 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7480 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7481 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7482 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7483 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7484 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7485 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7486 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7488 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7489 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7490 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7491 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7492 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7493 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7495 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7496 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7497 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7498 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7499 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7501 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7502 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7503 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7504 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7505 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7508 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7509 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7510 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7511 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7512 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7514 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7515 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7516 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7517 reader to use this setting.
7520 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7521 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7522 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7523 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7526 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7527 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7528 available functions that generate names:
7532 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7533 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7534 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7536 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7537 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7538 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7540 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7541 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7542 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7544 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7545 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7546 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7548 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7549 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7550 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7553 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7554 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7555 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7556 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7557 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7561 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7562 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7563 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7564 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
7567 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
7568 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
7569 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
7570 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
7571 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
7572 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
7573 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
7574 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
7575 called returns a string or a list of strings.
7577 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
7578 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
7579 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
7580 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
7582 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
7583 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
7584 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
7587 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
7588 lots of mail groups called things like
7589 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
7590 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
7591 following will do just that:
7594 (defun my-save-name (group)
7595 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
7596 (substring group (match-end 0))))
7598 (setq gnus-split-methods
7599 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
7604 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7605 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
7606 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
7607 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
7608 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
7609 all the files in the top level directory
7610 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
7611 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
7612 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
7613 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
7615 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
7616 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
7617 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
7618 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
7619 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
7622 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
7626 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
7627 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
7628 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
7631 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
7632 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
7633 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
7634 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
7637 @node Decoding Articles
7638 @section Decoding Articles
7639 @cindex decoding articles
7641 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
7642 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
7645 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
7646 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
7647 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
7648 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
7649 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
7650 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
7654 @cindex article series
7655 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
7656 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
7657 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
7658 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
7659 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
7661 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
7662 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
7663 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
7665 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
7666 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
7667 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
7669 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
7670 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
7671 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
7674 @node Uuencoded Articles
7675 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
7677 @cindex uuencoded articles
7682 @kindex X u (Summary)
7683 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
7684 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
7685 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
7688 @kindex X U (Summary)
7689 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
7690 Uudecodes and saves the current series
7691 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7694 @kindex X v u (Summary)
7695 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
7696 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
7699 @kindex X v U (Summary)
7700 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
7701 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
7702 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
7706 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
7707 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
7708 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
7709 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
7710 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
7712 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
7713 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
7714 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
7715 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
7718 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
7719 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
7720 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
7721 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
7722 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
7723 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
7727 @node Shell Archives
7728 @subsection Shell Archives
7730 @cindex shell archives
7731 @cindex shared articles
7733 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
7734 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
7735 some commands to deal with these:
7740 @kindex X s (Summary)
7741 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
7742 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
7745 @kindex X S (Summary)
7746 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
7747 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
7750 @kindex X v s (Summary)
7751 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
7752 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
7755 @kindex X v S (Summary)
7756 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
7757 Unshars, views and saves the current series
7758 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
7762 @node PostScript Files
7763 @subsection PostScript Files
7769 @kindex X p (Summary)
7770 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
7771 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
7774 @kindex X P (Summary)
7775 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
7776 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
7777 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
7780 @kindex X v p (Summary)
7781 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
7782 View the current PostScript series
7783 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
7786 @kindex X v P (Summary)
7787 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
7788 View and save the current PostScript series
7789 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
7794 @subsection Other Files
7798 @kindex X o (Summary)
7799 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
7800 Save the current series
7801 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
7804 @kindex X b (Summary)
7805 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
7806 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
7807 doesn't really work yet.
7811 @node Decoding Variables
7812 @subsection Decoding Variables
7814 Adjective, not verb.
7817 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
7818 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
7819 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
7823 @node Rule Variables
7824 @subsubsection Rule Variables
7825 @cindex rule variables
7827 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
7828 variables are of the form
7831 (list '(regexp1 command2)
7838 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7839 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7841 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
7842 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
7845 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
7846 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
7849 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7850 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
7851 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
7852 user and default view rules.
7854 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7855 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
7856 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
7861 @node Other Decode Variables
7862 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
7865 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7867 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
7868 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
7869 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
7870 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
7871 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
7875 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
7876 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
7879 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
7880 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
7881 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
7884 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7885 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
7886 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
7887 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
7888 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
7891 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7892 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
7893 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
7895 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7896 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
7897 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
7898 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
7899 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
7902 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7903 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
7904 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
7906 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7907 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
7908 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
7909 looking for files to display.
7911 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
7912 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
7913 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
7916 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7917 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
7918 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
7921 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7922 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
7923 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
7926 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7927 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
7928 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
7931 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7932 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
7933 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
7934 decoded articles as unread.
7936 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7937 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
7938 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
7939 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
7941 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7942 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
7943 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
7945 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7946 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
7948 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
7949 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
7950 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
7951 @code{metamail} for viewing.
7953 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7954 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
7955 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
7956 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
7957 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
7958 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
7959 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
7960 simply dropped them.
7965 @node Uuencoding and Posting
7966 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
7970 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7971 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
7972 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
7973 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
7974 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
7975 for you when you post the article.
7977 @item gnus-uu-post-length
7978 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
7979 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
7980 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
7982 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
7983 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
7984 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
7985 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
7986 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
7987 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
7988 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
7990 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7991 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
7992 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
7993 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
7994 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
7995 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
7996 Default is @code{t}.
8002 @subsection Viewing Files
8003 @cindex viewing files
8004 @cindex pseudo-articles
8006 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8007 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8008 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8009 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8010 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8011 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8012 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8014 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8015 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8016 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8017 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8019 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8020 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8021 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8023 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8024 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8025 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8026 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8027 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8029 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8030 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8031 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8032 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8033 a list of parameters to that command.
8035 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8036 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8037 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8039 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8040 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8041 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8044 @node Article Treatment
8045 @section Article Treatment
8047 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8048 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8049 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8050 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8051 these articles easier.
8054 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8055 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8056 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8057 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8058 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8059 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8060 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8061 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8062 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys
8063 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8064 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8068 @node Article Highlighting
8069 @subsection Article Highlighting
8070 @cindex highlighting
8072 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8073 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8078 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8079 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8080 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8081 Do much highlighting of the current article
8082 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8083 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8086 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8087 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8088 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8089 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8090 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8091 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8092 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8093 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8094 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8095 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8096 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8097 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8100 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8101 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8102 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8104 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8107 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8109 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8110 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
8111 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8113 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8114 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8115 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8117 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8118 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8119 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8120 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8121 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8122 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8124 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8125 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8126 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8128 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8129 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8130 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8132 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8133 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8134 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8135 that it's a citation.
8137 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8138 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8139 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8141 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8142 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8143 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8145 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8146 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8147 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8148 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8150 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8151 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8152 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8153 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8154 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8161 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8162 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8163 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8164 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8165 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8166 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8167 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8168 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
8173 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
8176 @node Article Fontisizing
8177 @subsection Article Fontisizing
8179 @cindex article emphasis
8181 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
8182 @kindex W e (Summary)
8183 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
8184 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
8185 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
8186 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
8188 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
8189 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
8190 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
8191 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
8192 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
8193 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
8194 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
8195 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
8199 (setq gnus-emphasis-alist
8200 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
8201 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
8210 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
8211 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
8212 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
8213 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
8214 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
8215 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
8216 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
8217 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
8218 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
8219 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
8220 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
8221 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
8222 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
8224 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
8225 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
8226 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
8230 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
8233 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
8235 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
8236 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
8237 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
8238 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
8240 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
8243 @node Article Hiding
8244 @subsection Article Hiding
8245 @cindex article hiding
8247 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
8248 too much cruft in most articles.
8253 @kindex W W a (Summary)
8254 @findex gnus-article-hide
8255 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
8256 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
8257 headers, @acronym{PGP}, cited text and the signature.
8260 @kindex W W h (Summary)
8261 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
8262 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
8266 @kindex W W b (Summary)
8267 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
8268 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
8269 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
8272 @kindex W W s (Summary)
8273 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
8274 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
8278 @kindex W W l (Summary)
8279 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
8280 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8281 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
8282 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
8283 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
8284 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
8285 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
8289 @item gnus-list-identifiers
8290 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
8291 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
8292 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
8297 @kindex W W P (Summary)
8298 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
8299 Hide @acronym{PEM} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
8300 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
8303 @kindex W W B (Summary)
8304 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
8305 @vindex gnus-article-banner-alist
8306 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8309 @cindex stripping advertisements
8310 @cindex advertisements
8311 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
8312 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
8313 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
8314 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
8315 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
8316 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
8317 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
8318 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
8319 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
8320 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
8323 Regardless of a group, you can hide things like advertisements only when
8324 the sender of an article has a certain mail address specified in
8325 @code{gnus-article-address-banner-alist}.
8329 @item gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8330 @vindex gnus-article-address-banner-alist
8331 Alist of mail addresses and banners. Each element has the form
8332 @code{(@var{address} . @var{banner})}, where @var{address} is a regexp
8333 matching a mail address in the From header, @var{banner} is one of a
8334 symbol @code{signature}, an item in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist},
8335 a regexp and @code{nil}. If @var{address} matches author's mail
8336 address, it will remove things like advertisements. For example, if a
8337 sender has the mail address @samp{hail@@yoo-hoo.co.jp} and there is a
8338 banner something like @samp{Do You Yoo-hoo!?} in all articles he
8339 sends, you can use the following element to remove them:
8342 ("@@yoo-hoo\\.co\\.jp\\'" .
8343 "\n_+\nDo You Yoo-hoo!\\?\n.*\n.*\n")
8349 @kindex W W c (Summary)
8350 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
8351 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
8352 customizing the hiding:
8356 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8357 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8358 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
8359 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
8360 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
8361 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
8362 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
8367 Starting point of the hidden text.
8369 Ending point of the hidden text.
8371 Number of characters in the hidden region.
8373 Number of lines of hidden text.
8376 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
8377 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
8378 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
8379 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
8380 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
8385 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
8386 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
8388 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
8389 following two variables:
8392 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8393 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
8394 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
8395 50), hide the cited text.
8397 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8398 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
8399 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
8404 @kindex W W C (Summary)
8405 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
8406 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
8407 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
8408 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
8409 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8413 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
8414 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
8415 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
8417 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
8418 citation customization.
8420 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
8424 @node Article Washing
8425 @subsection Article Washing
8427 @cindex article washing
8429 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
8430 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
8432 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
8433 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
8436 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
8437 articles by default.
8442 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
8443 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
8447 Force redisplaying of the current article
8448 (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). This is also not really washing.
8449 If you type this, you see the article without any previously applied
8450 interactive Washing functions but with all default treatments
8451 (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
8454 @kindex W l (Summary)
8455 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
8456 Remove page breaks from the current article
8457 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
8461 @kindex W r (Summary)
8462 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
8463 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
8464 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
8465 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
8466 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
8467 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
8469 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
8470 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
8471 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
8472 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
8475 @kindex W m (Summary)
8476 @findex gnus-summary-morse-message
8477 Morse decode the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-morse-message}).
8481 @kindex W t (Summary)
8483 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
8484 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
8485 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
8488 @kindex W v (Summary)
8489 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-headers
8490 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
8491 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-headers}).
8494 @kindex W o (Summary)
8495 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
8496 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
8499 @kindex W d (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
8501 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
8503 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
8505 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
8506 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
8507 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
8508 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
8511 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
8512 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
8513 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
8514 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
8517 @kindex W Y f (Summary)
8518 @findex gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article
8519 @cindex Outlook Express
8520 Full deuglify of broken Outlook (Express) articles: Treat dumbquotes,
8521 unwrap lines, repair attribution and rearrange citation.
8522 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article}).
8525 @kindex W Y u (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines
8527 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min
8528 @vindex gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max
8529 Unwrap lines that appear to be wrapped citation lines. You can control
8530 what lines will be unwrapped by frobbing
8531 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-min} and
8532 @code{gnus-outlook-deuglify-unwrap-max}, indicating the minimum and
8533 maximum length of an unwrapped citation line.
8534 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-unwrap-lines}).
8537 @kindex W Y a (Summary)
8538 @findex gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution
8539 Repair a broken attribution line.@*
8540 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-repair-attribution}).
8543 @kindex W Y c (Summary)
8544 @findex gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation
8545 Repair broken citations by rearranging the text.
8546 (@code{gnus-article-outlook-rearrange-citation}).
8549 @kindex W w (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
8551 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
8553 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
8557 @kindex W Q (Summary)
8558 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
8559 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
8562 @kindex W C (Summary)
8563 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
8564 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
8565 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
8568 @kindex W c (Summary)
8569 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
8570 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
8571 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
8572 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
8573 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
8576 @kindex W q (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
8578 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
8579 Quoted-Printable is one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when
8580 sending non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. It typically
8581 makes strings like @samp{d@'ej@`a vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu},
8582 which doesn't look very readable to me. Note that this is usually
8583 done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8584 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8585 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8588 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
8589 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
8590 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}). Base64 is
8591 one common @acronym{MIME} encoding employed when sending
8592 non-@acronym{ASCII} (i.e., 8-bit) articles. Note that this is
8593 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8594 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding
8595 has been done. If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8598 @kindex W Z (Summary)
8599 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
8600 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
8601 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
8602 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
8605 @kindex W A (Summary)
8606 @findex gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences
8607 @cindex @acronym{ANSI} control sequences
8608 Translate @acronym{ANSI} SGR control sequences into overlays or
8609 extents (@code{gnus-article-treat-ansi-sequences}). @acronym{ANSI}
8610 sequences are used in some Chinese hierarchies for highlighting.
8613 @kindex W u (Summary)
8614 @findex gnus-article-unsplit-urls
8615 Remove newlines from within URLs. Some mailers insert newlines into
8616 outgoing email messages to keep lines short. This reformatting can
8617 split long URLs onto multiple lines. Repair those URLs by removing
8618 the newlines (@code{gnus-article-unsplit-urls}).
8621 @kindex W h (Summary)
8622 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
8623 Treat @acronym{HTML} (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}). Note that this is
8624 usually done automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
8625 @code{Content-Type} header that says that the message is @acronym{HTML}.
8627 If a prefix is given, a charset will be asked for.
8629 @vindex gnus-article-wash-function
8630 The default is to use the function specified by
8631 @code{mm-text-html-renderer} (@pxref{Display Customization, ,Display
8632 Customization, emacs-mime, The Emacs MIME Manual}) to convert the
8633 @acronym{HTML}, but this is controlled by the
8634 @code{gnus-article-wash-function} variable. Pre-defined functions you
8642 Use @uref{http://emacs-w3m.namazu.org/, emacs-w3m}.
8645 Use @uref{http://links.sf.net/, Links}.
8648 Use @uref{http://lynx.isc.org/, Lynx}.
8651 Use html2text---a simple @acronym{HTML} converter included with Gnus.
8656 @kindex W b (Summary)
8657 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
8658 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
8659 @xref{Article Buttons}.
8662 @kindex W B (Summary)
8663 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
8664 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
8665 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
8668 @kindex W p (Summary)
8669 @findex gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig
8670 Verify a signed control message
8671 (@code{gnus-article-verify-x-pgp-sig}). Control messages such as
8672 @code{newgroup} and @code{checkgroups} are usually signed by the
8673 hierarchy maintainer. You need to add the @acronym{PGP} public key of
8674 the maintainer to your keyring to verify the
8675 message.@footnote{@acronym{PGP} keys for many hierarchies are
8676 available at @uref{ftp://ftp.isc.org/pub/pgpcontrol/README.html}}
8679 @kindex W s (Summary)
8680 @findex gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt
8681 Verify a signed (@acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME} or
8682 @acronym{S/MIME}) message
8683 (@code{gnus-summary-force-verify-and-decrypt}). @xref{Security}.
8686 @kindex W a (Summary)
8687 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body
8688 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
8689 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-in-body}).
8692 @kindex W E l (Summary)
8693 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
8694 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
8695 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
8698 @kindex W E m (Summary)
8699 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
8700 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
8701 lines with a single empty line.
8702 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
8705 @kindex W E t (Summary)
8706 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
8707 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
8708 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
8711 @kindex W E a (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
8713 Do all the three commands above
8714 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
8717 @kindex W E A (Summary)
8718 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
8719 Remove all blank lines
8720 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
8723 @kindex W E s (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
8725 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
8726 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
8729 @kindex W E e (Summary)
8730 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
8731 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
8732 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
8736 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
8739 @node Article Header
8740 @subsection Article Header
8742 These commands perform various transformations of article header.
8747 @kindex W G u (Summary)
8748 @findex gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers
8749 Unfold folded header lines (@code{gnus-article-treat-unfold-headers}).
8752 @kindex W G n (Summary)
8753 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups
8754 Fold the @code{Newsgroups} and @code{Followup-To} headers
8755 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-newsgroups}).
8758 @kindex W G f (Summary)
8759 @findex gnus-article-treat-fold-headers
8760 Fold all the message headers
8761 (@code{gnus-article-treat-fold-headers}).
8764 @kindex W E w (Summary)
8765 @findex gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace
8766 Remove excessive whitespace from all headers
8767 (@code{gnus-article-remove-leading-whitespace}).
8772 @node Article Buttons
8773 @subsection Article Buttons
8776 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
8777 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
8778 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
8779 button on these references.
8781 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8782 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
8783 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man pages and
8784 Emacs or Gnus related references. This is controlled by two variables,
8785 one that handles article bodies and one that handles article heads:
8789 @item gnus-button-alist
8790 @vindex gnus-button-alist
8791 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
8794 (@var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8800 All text that match this regular expression (case insensitive) will be
8801 considered an external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches
8802 embedded URLs: @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}. This can also be a
8803 variable containing a regexp, useful variables to use include
8804 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp} and @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp}.
8807 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
8808 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
8809 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
8812 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
8813 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
8814 avoid false matches. Often variables named
8815 @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} are used here, @xref{Article Button
8816 Levels}, but any other form may be used too.
8818 @c @code{use-p} is @code{eval}ed only if @code{regexp} matches.
8821 This function will be called when you click on this button.
8824 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
8825 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
8829 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
8832 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
8835 @item gnus-header-button-alist
8836 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
8837 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
8838 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
8839 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
8842 (@var{header} @var{regexp} @var{button-par} @var{use-p} @var{function} @var{data-par})
8845 @var{header} is a regular expression.
8848 @subsubsection Related variables and functions
8851 @item gnus-button-@var{*}-level
8852 @xref{Article Button Levels}.
8854 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-browse-level
8856 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
8857 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
8858 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
8859 default values of the variables above.
8861 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-man-level
8863 @item gnus-button-man-handler
8864 @vindex gnus-button-man-handler
8865 The function to use for displaying man pages. It must take at least one
8866 argument with a string naming the man page.
8868 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-message-level
8870 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8871 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp
8872 Regular expression that matches a message ID or a mail address.
8874 @item gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8875 @vindex gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail
8876 This variable determines what to do when the button on a string as
8877 @samp{foo123@@bar.invalid} is pushed. Strings like this can be either a
8878 message ID or a mail address. If it is one of the symbols @code{mid} or
8879 @code{mail}, Gnus will always assume that the string is a message ID or
8880 a mail address, respectively. If this variable is set to the symbol
8881 @code{ask}, always query the user what do do. If it is a function, this
8882 function will be called with the string as its only argument. The
8883 function must return @code{mid}, @code{mail}, @code{invalid} or
8884 @code{ask}. The default value is the function
8885 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8887 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8888 @findex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic
8889 Function that guesses whether its argument is a message ID or a mail
8890 address. Returns @code{mid} if it's a message IDs, @code{mail} if
8891 it's a mail address, @code{ask} if unsure and @code{invalid} if the
8894 @item gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8895 @vindex gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist
8896 An alist of @code{(RATE . REGEXP)} pairs used by the function
8897 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}.
8899 @c Stuff related to gnus-button-tex-level
8901 @item gnus-button-ctan-handler
8902 @findex gnus-button-ctan-handler
8903 The function to use for displaying CTAN links. It must take one
8904 argument, the string naming the URL.
8907 @vindex gnus-ctan-url
8908 Top directory of a CTAN (Comprehensive TeX Archive Network) archive used
8909 by @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler}.
8913 @item gnus-article-button-face
8914 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
8915 Face used on buttons.
8917 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
8918 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
8919 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
8923 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
8926 @node Article Button Levels
8927 @subsection Article button levels
8928 @cindex button levels
8929 The higher the value of the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level},
8930 the more buttons will appear. If the level is zero, no corresponding
8931 buttons are displayed. With the default value (which is 5) you should
8932 already see quite a lot of buttons. With higher levels, you will see
8933 more buttons, but you may also get more false positives. To avoid them,
8934 you can set the variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} local to
8935 specific groups (@pxref{Group Parameters}). Here's an example for the
8936 variable @code{gnus-parameters}:
8939 ;; @r{increase @code{gnus-button-*-level} in some groups:}
8940 (setq gnus-parameters
8941 '(("\\<\\(emacs\\|gnus\\)\\>" (gnus-button-emacs-level 10))
8942 ("\\<unix\\>" (gnus-button-man-level 10))
8943 ("\\<tex\\>" (gnus-button-tex-level 10))))
8948 @item gnus-button-browse-level
8949 @vindex gnus-button-browse-level
8950 Controls the display of references to message IDs, mail addresses and
8951 news URLs. Related variables and functions include
8952 @code{gnus-button-url-regexp}, @code{browse-url}, and
8953 @code{browse-url-browser-function}.
8955 @item gnus-button-emacs-level
8956 @vindex gnus-button-emacs-level
8957 Controls the display of Emacs or Gnus references. Related functions are
8958 @code{gnus-button-handle-custom},
8959 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-function},
8960 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-variable},
8961 @code{gnus-button-handle-symbol},
8962 @code{gnus-button-handle-describe-key},
8963 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos},
8964 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-command},
8965 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-variable},
8966 @code{gnus-button-handle-apropos-documentation}, and
8967 @code{gnus-button-handle-library}.
8969 @item gnus-button-man-level
8970 @vindex gnus-button-man-level
8971 Controls the display of references to (Unix) man pages.
8972 See @code{gnus-button-man-handler}.
8974 @item gnus-button-message-level
8975 @vindex gnus-button-message-level
8976 Controls the display of message IDs, mail addresses and news URLs.
8977 Related variables and functions include
8978 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-regexp},
8979 @code{gnus-button-prefer-mid-or-mail},
8980 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic}, and
8981 @code{gnus-button-mid-or-mail-heuristic-alist}.
8983 @item gnus-button-tex-level
8984 @vindex gnus-button-tex-level
8985 Controls the display of references to @TeX{} or LaTeX stuff, e.g. for CTAN
8986 URLs. See the variables @code{gnus-ctan-url},
8987 @code{gnus-button-ctan-handler},
8988 @code{gnus-button-ctan-directory-regexp}, and
8989 @code{gnus-button-handle-ctan-bogus-regexp}.
8995 @subsection Article Date
8997 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
8998 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
8999 when the article was sent.
9004 @kindex W T u (Summary)
9005 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
9006 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
9007 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
9010 @kindex W T i (Summary)
9011 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
9013 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
9014 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
9017 @kindex W T l (Summary)
9018 @findex gnus-article-date-local
9019 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
9022 @kindex W T p (Summary)
9023 @findex gnus-article-date-english
9024 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
9025 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
9028 @kindex W T s (Summary)
9029 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
9030 @findex gnus-article-date-user
9031 @findex format-time-string
9032 Display the date using a user-defined format
9033 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
9034 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
9035 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
9036 for a list of possible format specs.
9039 @kindex W T e (Summary)
9040 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
9041 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
9042 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
9043 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
9044 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
9047 X-Sent: 6 weeks, 4 days, 1 hour, 3 minutes, 8 seconds ago
9050 @vindex gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header
9051 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
9052 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
9055 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
9056 into wonderful absurdities.
9058 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
9061 (gnus-start-date-timer)
9064 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
9065 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
9069 @kindex W T o (Summary)
9070 @findex gnus-article-date-original
9071 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
9072 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
9073 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
9074 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
9075 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
9079 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
9080 preferred format automatically.
9083 @node Article Display
9084 @subsection Article Display
9089 These commands add various frivolous display gimmicks to the article
9090 buffer in Emacs versions that support them.
9092 @code{X-Face} headers are small black-and-white images supplied by the
9093 message headers (@pxref{X-Face}).
9095 @code{Face} headers are small colored images supplied by the message
9096 headers (@pxref{Face}).
9098 Smileys are those little @samp{:-)} symbols that people like to litter
9099 their messages with (@pxref{Smileys}).
9101 Picons, on the other hand, reside on your own system, and Gnus will
9102 try to match the headers to what you have (@pxref{Picons}).
9104 All these functions are toggles---if the elements already exist,
9109 @kindex W D x (Summary)
9110 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
9111 Display an @code{X-Face} in the @code{From} header.
9112 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}).
9115 @kindex W D d (Summary)
9116 @findex gnus-article-display-face
9117 Display a @code{Face} in the @code{From} header.
9118 (@code{gnus-article-display-face}).
9121 @kindex W D s (Summary)
9122 @findex gnus-treat-smiley
9123 Display smileys (@code{gnus-treat-smiley}).
9126 @kindex W D f (Summary)
9127 @findex gnus-treat-from-picon
9128 Piconify the @code{From} header (@code{gnus-treat-from-picon}).
9131 @kindex W D m (Summary)
9132 @findex gnus-treat-mail-picon
9133 Piconify all mail headers (i. e., @code{Cc}, @code{To})
9134 (@code{gnus-treat-mail-picon}).
9137 @kindex W D n (Summary)
9138 @findex gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon
9139 Piconify all news headers (i. e., @code{Newsgroups} and
9140 @code{Followup-To}) (@code{gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon}).
9143 @kindex W D D (Summary)
9144 @findex gnus-article-remove-images
9145 Remove all images from the article buffer
9146 (@code{gnus-article-remove-images}).
9152 @node Article Signature
9153 @subsection Article Signature
9155 @cindex article signature
9157 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
9158 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
9159 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
9160 that says what is to be considered a signature is
9161 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
9162 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
9163 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
9164 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
9165 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
9168 (setq gnus-signature-separator
9169 '("^-- $" ; @r{The standard}
9170 "^-- *$" ; @r{A common mangling}
9171 "^-------*$" ; @r{Many people just use a looong}
9172 ; @r{line of dashes. Shame!}
9173 "^ *--------*$" ; @r{Double-shame!}
9174 "^________*$" ; @r{Underscores are also popular}
9175 "^========*$")) ; @r{Pervert!}
9178 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
9181 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
9182 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
9183 signature when displaying articles.
9187 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
9190 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
9193 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
9194 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
9196 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
9197 in question is not a signature.
9200 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
9201 listed above. Here's an example:
9204 (setq gnus-signature-limit
9205 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
9208 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
9209 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
9210 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
9211 signature after all.
9214 @node Article Miscellanea
9215 @subsection Article Miscellanea
9219 @kindex A t (Summary)
9220 @findex gnus-article-babel
9221 Translate the article from one language to another
9222 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
9228 @section MIME Commands
9229 @cindex MIME decoding
9231 @cindex viewing attachments
9233 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
9234 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @acronym{MIME} part''.
9240 @kindex K v (Summary)
9241 View the @acronym{MIME} part.
9244 @kindex K o (Summary)
9245 Save the @acronym{MIME} part.
9248 @kindex K c (Summary)
9249 Copy the @acronym{MIME} part.
9252 @kindex K e (Summary)
9253 View the @acronym{MIME} part externally.
9256 @kindex K i (Summary)
9257 View the @acronym{MIME} part internally.
9260 @kindex K | (Summary)
9261 Pipe the @acronym{MIME} part to an external command.
9264 The rest of these @acronym{MIME} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
9269 @kindex K b (Summary)
9270 Make all the @acronym{MIME} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
9271 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
9275 @kindex K m (Summary)
9276 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
9277 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
9278 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
9279 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
9280 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
9283 @kindex X m (Summary)
9284 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
9285 Save all parts matching a @acronym{MIME} type to a directory
9286 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
9287 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
9290 @kindex M-t (Summary)
9291 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized
9292 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
9293 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
9296 @kindex W M w (Summary)
9297 @findex gnus-article-decode-mime-words
9298 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
9299 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
9302 @kindex W M c (Summary)
9303 @findex gnus-article-decode-charset
9304 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
9305 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
9307 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
9308 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
9309 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
9310 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not
9311 include @acronym{MIME} headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic
9312 parameter to the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9315 @kindex W M v (Summary)
9316 @findex gnus-mime-view-all-parts
9317 View all the @acronym{MIME} parts in the current article
9318 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
9325 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
9326 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
9327 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9328 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
9331 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
9334 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
9338 @item gnus-article-loose-mime
9339 @vindex gnus-article-loose-mime
9340 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus won't require the @samp{MIME-Version} header
9341 before interpreting the message as a @acronym{MIME} message. This helps
9342 when reading messages from certain broken mail user agents. The
9343 default is @code{nil}.
9345 @item gnus-article-emulate-mime
9346 @vindex gnus-article-emulate-mime
9347 There are other, non-@acronym{MIME} encoding methods used. The most common
9348 is @samp{uuencode}, but yEncode is also getting to be popular. If
9349 this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will look in message bodies to
9350 see if it finds these encodings, and if so, it'll run them through the
9351 Gnus @acronym{MIME} machinery. The default is @code{t}.
9353 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9354 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
9355 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9356 this list won't have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9357 displayed or this variable is overridden by
9358 @code{gnus-buttonized-mime-types}. The default value is
9359 @code{(".*/.*")}. This variable is only used when
9360 @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing} is @code{nil}.
9362 @item gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9363 @vindex gnus-buttonized-mime-types
9364 This is a list of regexps. @acronym{MIME} types that match a regexp from
9365 this list will have @acronym{MIME} buttons inserted unless they aren't
9366 displayed. This variable overrides
9367 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types}. The default value is @code{nil}.
9368 This variable is only used when @code{gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing}
9371 To see e.g. security buttons but no other buttons, you could set this
9372 variable to @code{("multipart/signed")} and leave
9373 @code{gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types} at the default value.
9375 @item gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9376 @vindex gnus-inhibit-mime-unbuttonizing
9377 If this is non-@code{nil}, then all @acronym{MIME} parts get buttons. The
9378 default value is @code{nil}.
9380 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
9381 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
9382 For each @acronym{MIME} part, this function will be called with the @acronym{MIME}
9383 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
9384 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
9385 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
9386 save all jpegs into some directory).
9388 Here's an example function the does the latter:
9391 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
9392 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
9394 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
9395 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
9396 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
9397 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
9398 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
9401 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9402 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
9403 Alist of @acronym{MIME} multipart types and functions to handle them.
9405 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9406 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed
9407 Display "multipart/alternative" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9409 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9410 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed
9411 Display "multipart/related" parts as "multipart/mixed".
9413 If displaying "text/html" is discouraged, see
9414 @code{mm-discouraged-alternatives} in @ref{Display Customization,
9415 Display Customization, , emacs-mime, Emacs-Mime Manual}. Images or
9416 other material inside a "multipart/related" part might be overlooked
9417 when this variable is nil.
9419 @vindex gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9420 @item gnus-mime-display-multipart-as-mixed
9421 Display "multipart" parts as "multipart/mixed". If t, it overrides nil
9422 values of @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-alternative-as-mixed} and
9423 @code{gnus-mime-display-multipart-related-as-mixed}.
9425 @vindex mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9426 @item mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9427 List of functions used for rewriting file names of @acronym{MIME} parts.
9428 Each function takes a file name as input and returns a file name.
9430 Ready-made functions include@*
9431 @code{mm-file-name-delete-whitespace},
9432 @code{mm-file-name-trim-whitespace},
9433 @code{mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace}, and
9434 @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace}. The later uses the value of
9435 the variable @code{mm-file-name-replace-whitespace} to replace each
9436 whitespace character in a file name with that string; default value
9437 is @code{"_"} (a single underscore).
9438 @findex mm-file-name-delete-whitespace
9439 @findex mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9440 @findex mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9441 @findex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9442 @vindex mm-file-name-replace-whitespace
9444 The standard functions @code{capitalize}, @code{downcase},
9445 @code{upcase}, and @code{upcase-initials} may be useful, too.
9447 Everybody knows that whitespace characters in file names are evil,
9448 except those who don't know. If you receive lots of attachments from
9449 such unenlightened users, you can make live easier by adding
9452 (setq mm-file-name-rewrite-functions
9453 '(mm-file-name-trim-whitespace
9454 mm-file-name-collapse-whitespace
9455 mm-file-name-replace-whitespace))
9459 to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
9468 People use different charsets, and we have @acronym{MIME} to let us know what
9469 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
9470 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @acronym{MIME}, and
9471 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
9472 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
9473 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
9474 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
9476 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
9477 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
9478 variable, which is an alist of regexps (use the first item to match full
9479 group names) and default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
9481 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets
9482 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @acronym{MIME}-aware agents that
9483 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1}
9484 even if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
9485 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
9486 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be
9487 set on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
9488 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit x-unknown)},
9489 which includes values some agents insist on having in there.
9491 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
9492 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
9493 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @acronym{MIME}
9494 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
9495 quoted-printable header encoding.
9497 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
9498 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
9499 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
9503 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
9506 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
9507 means encode all charsets),
9509 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
9510 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
9511 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
9518 @cindex coding system aliases
9519 @cindex preferred charset
9521 @xref{Encoding Customization, , Encoding Customization, emacs-mime,
9522 The Emacs MIME Manual}, for additional variables that control which
9523 MIME charsets are used when sending messages.
9525 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
9527 If there are several @acronym{MIME} charsets that encode the same Emacs
9528 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
9531 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
9532 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
9535 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
9536 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @acronym{MIME} charset.
9538 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
9541 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
9544 This will almost do the right thing.
9546 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
9550 (codepage-setup 1251)
9551 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
9555 @node Article Commands
9556 @section Article Commands
9563 @kindex A P (Summary)
9564 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
9565 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
9566 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
9567 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will
9568 be run just before printing the buffer. An alternative way to print
9569 article is to use Muttprint (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
9574 @node Summary Sorting
9575 @section Summary Sorting
9576 @cindex summary sorting
9578 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
9579 can't really see why you'd want that.
9584 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
9585 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
9586 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
9589 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
9590 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
9591 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
9594 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
9595 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
9596 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
9599 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
9600 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
9601 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
9604 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
9605 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
9606 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
9609 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
9610 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
9611 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
9614 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
9615 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
9616 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
9619 @kindex C-c C-s C-r (Summary)
9620 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-random
9621 Randomize (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-random}).
9624 @kindex C-c C-s C-o (Summary)
9625 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-original
9626 Sort using the default sorting method
9627 (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-original}).
9630 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
9631 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
9632 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
9633 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
9634 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
9638 @node Finding the Parent
9639 @section Finding the Parent
9640 @cindex parent articles
9641 @cindex referring articles
9646 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
9647 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
9648 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
9649 if the current group is fetched by @acronym{NNTP}, the parent hasn't expired
9650 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
9651 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
9652 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
9653 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
9654 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
9656 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
9657 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
9658 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
9659 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
9660 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
9664 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
9665 @kindex A R (Summary)
9666 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
9667 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
9670 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
9671 @kindex A T (Summary)
9672 Display the full thread where the current article appears
9673 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
9674 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
9675 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
9676 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
9677 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
9678 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
9680 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
9681 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
9682 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
9683 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
9684 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
9685 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
9688 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
9689 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
9691 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
9692 You can also ask the @acronym{NNTP} server for an arbitrary article, no
9693 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
9694 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
9695 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
9696 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
9697 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
9700 The current select method will be used when fetching by
9701 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
9702 by giving this command a prefix.
9704 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
9705 If the group you are reading is located on a back end that does not
9706 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
9707 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @acronym{NNTP} method. It
9708 would, perhaps, be best if the @acronym{NNTP} server you consult is the one
9709 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
9712 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
9713 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
9714 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
9717 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
9718 then ask Google if that fails:
9721 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
9723 (nnweb "google" (nnweb-type google))))
9726 Most of the mail back ends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but
9727 do not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox},
9728 @code{nnbabyl}, @code{nnmaildir}, @code{nnml}, are able to locate
9729 articles from any groups, while @code{nnfolder}, and @code{nnimap} are
9730 only able to locate articles that have been posted to the current
9731 group. (Anything else would be too time consuming.) @code{nnmh} does
9732 not support this at all.
9735 @node Alternative Approaches
9736 @section Alternative Approaches
9738 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
9739 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
9742 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
9743 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
9748 @subsection Pick and Read
9749 @cindex pick and read
9751 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
9752 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
9753 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
9754 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
9756 @findex gnus-pick-mode
9757 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
9758 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
9759 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
9760 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
9761 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
9763 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
9768 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
9769 Pick the article or thread on the current line
9770 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9771 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
9772 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
9773 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
9774 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
9775 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
9778 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
9779 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
9780 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
9781 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
9785 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
9786 Unpick the thread or article
9787 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
9788 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
9789 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
9790 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
9791 the thread or article at that line.
9795 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
9796 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
9797 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
9798 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
9799 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
9800 will still be visible when you are reading.
9804 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
9805 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
9806 which is mapped to the same function
9807 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
9809 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
9812 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
9815 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
9816 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
9818 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
9819 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
9820 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
9822 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
9823 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
9824 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
9825 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
9826 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
9827 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
9828 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
9832 @subsection Binary Groups
9833 @cindex binary groups
9835 @findex gnus-binary-mode
9836 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
9837 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
9838 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
9839 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
9840 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
9841 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
9844 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
9845 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
9846 command, when you have turned on this mode
9847 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
9849 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
9850 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
9854 @section Tree Display
9857 @vindex gnus-use-trees
9858 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
9859 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
9860 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
9863 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
9866 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
9867 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
9868 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
9870 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9871 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
9872 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
9873 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
9874 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
9876 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
9877 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
9878 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
9879 default is @code{modeline}.
9881 @item gnus-tree-line-format
9882 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
9883 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
9884 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
9885 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
9886 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
9887 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
9893 The name of the poster.
9895 The @code{From} header.
9897 The number of the article.
9899 The opening bracket.
9901 The closing bracket.
9906 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
9908 Variables related to the display are:
9911 @item gnus-tree-brackets
9912 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
9913 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
9914 ``sparse'' articles. The format is
9916 ((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
9917 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close})
9918 (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))
9920 and the default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
9922 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9923 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
9924 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
9925 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
9929 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
9930 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
9931 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
9932 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
9933 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
9934 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
9935 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
9936 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
9937 other windows displayed next to it.
9939 You may also wish to add the following hook to keep the window minimized
9943 (add-hook 'gnus-configure-windows-hook
9944 'gnus-tree-perhaps-minimize)
9947 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
9948 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
9949 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9950 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
9951 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
9952 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
9953 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
9957 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
9960 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
9970 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
9975 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
9976 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
9978 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
9980 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
9986 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
9987 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
9988 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
9991 (setq gnus-use-trees t
9992 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
9993 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
9994 (gnus-add-configuration
9998 (summary 0.75 point)
10003 @xref{Window Layout}.
10006 @node Mail Group Commands
10007 @section Mail Group Commands
10008 @cindex mail group commands
10010 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
10011 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
10013 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
10014 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10019 @kindex B e (Summary)
10020 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
10021 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
10022 process (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}). That is, delete all
10023 expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
10024 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
10027 @kindex B C-M-e (Summary)
10028 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
10029 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
10030 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
10031 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
10032 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
10035 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
10036 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
10037 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
10038 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
10039 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
10040 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
10043 @kindex B m (Summary)
10045 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
10046 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
10047 Move the article from one mail group to another
10048 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10049 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10052 @kindex B c (Summary)
10054 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
10055 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
10056 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
10057 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
10058 @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
10061 @kindex B B (Summary)
10062 @cindex crosspost mail
10063 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
10064 Crosspost the current article to some other group
10065 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
10066 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
10067 be properly updated.
10070 @kindex B i (Summary)
10071 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
10072 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
10073 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
10074 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10077 @kindex B I (Summary)
10078 @findex gnus-summary-create-article
10079 Create an empty article in the current mail newsgroups
10080 (@code{gnus-summary-create-article}). You will be prompted for a
10081 @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
10084 @kindex B r (Summary)
10085 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
10086 @vindex gnus-summary-respool-default-method
10087 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
10088 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
10089 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
10090 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
10091 Marks will be preserved if @code{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
10092 (which is the default).
10096 @kindex B w (Summary)
10097 @kindex e (Summary)
10098 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
10099 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
10100 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article-done
10101 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
10102 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
10103 (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
10104 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
10107 @kindex B q (Summary)
10108 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
10109 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
10110 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
10111 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
10114 @kindex B t (Summary)
10115 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
10116 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
10117 when respooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
10120 @kindex B p (Summary)
10121 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
10122 Some people have a tendency to send you ``courtesy'' copies when they
10123 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
10124 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
10125 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
10126 article from your news server (or rather, from
10127 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
10128 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
10129 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
10130 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
10131 just not have arrived yet.
10134 @kindex K E (Summary)
10135 @findex gnus-article-encrypt-body
10136 @vindex gnus-article-encrypt-protocol
10137 Encrypt the body of an article (@code{gnus-article-encrypt-body}).
10138 The body is encrypted with the encryption protocol specified by the
10139 variable @code{gnus-article-encrypt-protocol}.
10143 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
10144 @cindex moving articles
10145 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
10146 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
10147 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
10148 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
10149 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
10150 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
10151 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
10154 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
10155 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
10156 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
10157 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
10161 @node Various Summary Stuff
10162 @section Various Summary Stuff
10165 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
10166 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
10167 * Summary Generation Commands::
10168 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
10172 @vindex gnus-summary-display-while-building
10173 @item gnus-summary-display-while-building
10174 If non-@code{nil}, show and update the summary buffer as it's being
10175 built. If @code{t}, update the buffer after every line is inserted.
10176 If the value is an integer, @var{n}, update the display every @var{n}
10177 lines. The default is @code{nil}.
10179 @vindex gnus-summary-display-arrow
10180 @item gnus-summary-display-arrow
10181 If non-@code{nil}, display an arrow in the fringe to indicate the
10184 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
10185 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
10186 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
10188 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
10189 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
10190 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
10191 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
10192 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
10193 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
10196 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10197 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
10198 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
10199 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
10200 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
10202 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10203 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
10204 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
10207 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10208 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
10209 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
10210 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
10211 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
10212 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
10213 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
10214 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
10215 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
10216 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
10218 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10219 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
10220 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
10221 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
10222 list of articles to be selected.
10224 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
10225 the list in one particular group:
10228 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
10229 (if (string= group "some.group")
10230 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
10234 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-variables
10235 @item gnus-newsgroup-variables
10236 A list of newsgroup (summary buffer) local variables, or cons of
10237 variables and their default expressions to be evalled (when the default
10238 values are not @code{nil}), that should be made global while the summary
10241 Note: The default expressions will be evaluated (using function
10242 @code{eval}) before assignment to the local variable rather than just
10243 assigned to it. If the default expression is the symbol @code{global},
10244 that symbol will not be evaluated but the global value of the local
10245 variable will be used instead.
10247 These variables can be used to set variables in the group parameters
10248 while still allowing them to affect operations done in other
10249 buffers. For example:
10252 (setq gnus-newsgroup-variables
10253 '(message-use-followup-to
10254 (gnus-visible-headers .
10255 "^From:\\|^Newsgroups:\\|^Subject:\\|^Date:\\|^To:")))
10258 Also @pxref{Group Parameters}.
10262 @node Summary Group Information
10263 @subsection Summary Group Information
10268 @kindex H f (Summary)
10269 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
10270 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
10271 Try to fetch the @acronym{FAQ} (list of frequently asked questions)
10272 for the current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try
10273 to get the @acronym{FAQ} from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which
10274 is usually a directory on a remote machine. This variable can also be
10275 a list of directories. In that case, giving a prefix to this command
10276 will allow you to choose between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp}
10277 or @code{efs} will probably be used for fetching the file.
10280 @kindex H d (Summary)
10281 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
10282 Give a brief description of the current group
10283 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
10284 rereading the description from the server.
10287 @kindex H h (Summary)
10288 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
10289 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
10290 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
10293 @kindex H i (Summary)
10294 @findex gnus-info-find-node
10295 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
10299 @node Searching for Articles
10300 @subsection Searching for Articles
10305 @kindex M-s (Summary)
10306 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
10307 Search through all subsequent (raw) articles for a regexp
10308 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
10311 @kindex M-r (Summary)
10312 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
10313 Search through all previous (raw) articles for a regexp
10314 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
10317 @kindex & (Summary)
10318 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
10319 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
10320 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
10321 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
10322 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
10323 search backward instead.
10325 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string RET #} will put the process mark on
10326 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
10329 @kindex M-& (Summary)
10330 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
10331 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
10332 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
10335 @node Summary Generation Commands
10336 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
10341 @kindex Y g (Summary)
10342 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
10343 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
10346 @kindex Y c (Summary)
10347 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
10348 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10349 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
10352 @kindex Y d (Summary)
10353 @findex gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles
10354 Pull all dormant articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
10355 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-dormant-articles}).
10360 @node Really Various Summary Commands
10361 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
10367 @kindex C-d (Summary)
10368 @kindex A D (Summary)
10369 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
10370 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
10371 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
10372 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
10373 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
10374 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
10375 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
10376 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
10380 @kindex C-M-d (Summary)
10381 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
10382 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
10383 several documents into one biiig group
10384 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
10385 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
10386 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
10387 command understands the process/prefix convention
10388 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10391 @kindex C-t (Summary)
10392 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
10393 Toggle truncation of summary lines
10394 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
10395 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
10396 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
10399 @kindex = (Summary)
10400 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
10401 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
10402 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
10405 @kindex C-M-e (Summary)
10406 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
10407 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10408 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
10411 @kindex C-M-a (Summary)
10412 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
10413 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
10414 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
10419 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
10420 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
10421 @cindex summary exit
10422 @cindex exiting groups
10424 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
10425 group and return you to the group buffer.
10432 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
10433 @kindex Z Q (Summary)
10434 @kindex q (Summary)
10435 @findex gnus-summary-exit
10436 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
10437 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
10438 @vindex gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook
10439 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
10440 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
10441 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
10442 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
10443 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
10444 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
10445 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
10446 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
10450 @kindex Z E (Summary)
10451 @kindex Q (Summary)
10452 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
10453 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
10454 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
10458 @kindex Z c (Summary)
10459 @kindex c (Summary)
10460 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
10461 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
10462 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
10463 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
10466 @kindex Z C (Summary)
10467 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
10468 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
10469 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
10472 @kindex Z n (Summary)
10473 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
10474 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
10475 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
10479 @kindex Z R (Summary)
10480 @kindex C-x C-s (Summary)
10481 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
10482 Exit this group, and then enter it again
10483 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
10484 all articles, both read and unread.
10488 @kindex Z G (Summary)
10489 @kindex M-g (Summary)
10490 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
10491 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
10492 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
10493 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
10494 articles, both read and unread.
10497 @kindex Z N (Summary)
10498 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
10499 Exit the group and go to the next group
10500 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
10503 @kindex Z P (Summary)
10504 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
10505 Exit the group and go to the previous group
10506 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
10509 @kindex Z s (Summary)
10510 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
10511 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
10512 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
10513 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
10514 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
10517 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
10518 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
10519 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
10520 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
10522 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
10523 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
10524 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
10525 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
10526 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
10527 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
10528 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
10529 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
10530 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
10531 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
10532 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
10533 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
10535 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
10537 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
10538 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
10539 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
10540 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
10541 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
10542 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
10543 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
10544 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
10545 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
10548 @node Crosspost Handling
10549 @section Crosspost Handling
10553 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
10554 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
10555 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
10556 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
10557 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
10558 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
10561 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
10562 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
10563 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
10564 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
10565 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
10567 @cindex cross-posting
10569 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
10570 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
10571 correctly is if you use an @acronym{NNTP} server that supports @sc{xover}
10572 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
10573 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @acronym{NOV} lines. This is
10574 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
10575 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
10576 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
10577 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
10578 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
10579 the cross reference mechanism.
10581 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
10582 @cindex overview.fmt
10583 To check whether your @acronym{NNTP} server includes the @code{Xref} header
10584 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
10585 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
10586 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
10587 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
10588 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
10591 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
10592 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
10593 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
10598 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
10601 @node Duplicate Suppression
10602 @section Duplicate Suppression
10604 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
10605 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
10606 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
10607 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
10612 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
10613 is evil and not very common.
10616 The @acronym{NNTP} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
10617 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
10620 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
10621 different @acronym{NNTP} servers.
10624 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
10627 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
10628 well, but these four are the most common situations.
10630 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
10631 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
10632 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
10633 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
10634 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
10635 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
10636 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
10639 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
10640 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
10641 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
10642 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
10643 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
10644 saw the article in.
10647 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
10648 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
10649 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
10651 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
10652 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
10653 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
10654 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
10655 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
10656 session are suppressed.
10658 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
10659 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
10660 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
10661 suppression list. The default is 10000.
10663 @item gnus-duplicate-file
10664 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
10665 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
10666 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
10669 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
10670 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
10671 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
10672 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
10673 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
10674 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
10675 to you to figure out, I think.
10680 Gnus is able to verify signed messages or decrypt encrypted messages.
10681 The formats that are supported are @acronym{PGP}, @acronym{PGP/MIME}
10682 and @acronym{S/MIME}, however you need some external programs to get
10687 To handle @acronym{PGP} and @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages, you have to
10688 install an OpenPGP implementation such as GnuPG. The Lisp interface
10689 to GnuPG included with Gnus is called PGG (@pxref{Top, ,PGG, pgg, PGG
10690 Manual}), but Mailcrypt and gpg.el are also supported.
10693 To handle @acronym{S/MIME} message, you need to install OpenSSL. OpenSSL 0.9.6
10694 or newer is recommended.
10698 More information on how to set things up can be found in the message
10699 manual (@pxref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}).
10702 @item mm-verify-option
10703 @vindex mm-verify-option
10704 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
10705 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
10706 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10708 @item mm-decrypt-option
10709 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
10710 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
10711 @code{always}, always decrypt; @code{known}, only decrypt known
10712 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
10715 @vindex mml1991-use
10716 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10717 @acronym{PGP} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10718 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10722 @vindex mml2015-use
10723 Symbol indicating elisp interface to OpenPGP implementation for
10724 @acronym{PGP/MIME} messages. The default is @code{pgg}, but
10725 @code{mailcrypt} and @code{gpg} are also supported although
10730 @cindex snarfing keys
10731 @cindex importing PGP keys
10732 @cindex PGP key ring import
10733 Snarfing OpenPGP keys (i.e., importing keys from articles into your
10734 key ring) is not supported explicitly through a menu item or command,
10735 rather Gnus do detect and label keys as @samp{application/pgp-keys},
10736 allowing you to specify whatever action you think is appropriate
10737 through the usual @acronym{MIME} infrastructure. You can use a
10738 @file{~/.mailcap} entry (@pxref{mailcap, , mailcap, emacs-mime, The
10739 Emacs MIME Manual}) such as the following to import keys using GNU
10740 Privacy Guard when you click on the @acronym{MIME} button
10741 (@pxref{Using MIME}).
10744 application/pgp-keys; gpg --import --interactive --verbose; needsterminal
10747 This happens to also be the default action defined in
10748 @code{mailcap-mime-data}.
10751 @section Mailing List
10752 @cindex mailing list
10755 @kindex A M (summary)
10756 @findex gnus-mailing-list-insinuate
10757 Gnus understands some mailing list fields of RFC 2369. To enable it,
10758 add a @code{to-list} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}),
10759 possibly using @kbd{A M} (@code{gnus-mailing-list-insinuate}) in the
10762 That enables the following commands to the summary buffer:
10767 @kindex C-c C-n h (Summary)
10768 @findex gnus-mailing-list-help
10769 Send a message to fetch mailing list help, if List-Help field exists.
10772 @kindex C-c C-n s (Summary)
10773 @findex gnus-mailing-list-subscribe
10774 Send a message to subscribe the mailing list, if List-Subscribe field exists.
10777 @kindex C-c C-n u (Summary)
10778 @findex gnus-mailing-list-unsubscribe
10779 Send a message to unsubscribe the mailing list, if List-Unsubscribe
10783 @kindex C-c C-n p (Summary)
10784 @findex gnus-mailing-list-post
10785 Post to the mailing list, if List-Post field exists.
10788 @kindex C-c C-n o (Summary)
10789 @findex gnus-mailing-list-owner
10790 Send a message to the mailing list owner, if List-Owner field exists.
10793 @kindex C-c C-n a (Summary)
10794 @findex gnus-mailing-list-archive
10795 Browse the mailing list archive, if List-Archive field exists.
10800 @node Article Buffer
10801 @chapter Article Buffer
10802 @cindex article buffer
10804 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
10805 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
10806 tell Gnus otherwise.
10809 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
10810 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
10811 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
10812 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
10813 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
10817 @node Hiding Headers
10818 @section Hiding Headers
10819 @cindex hiding headers
10820 @cindex deleting headers
10822 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
10823 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
10825 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
10826 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
10827 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
10828 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
10829 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
10830 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
10831 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseam---and you'll probably want to get rid
10832 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
10833 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
10835 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
10839 @item gnus-visible-headers
10840 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
10841 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
10842 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
10843 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
10845 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
10846 the article and the subject, you'd say:
10849 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
10852 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10855 @item gnus-ignored-headers
10856 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
10857 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
10858 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
10859 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
10860 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
10862 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
10863 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
10866 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
10869 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
10872 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
10873 variable will have no effect.
10877 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
10878 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
10879 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
10880 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
10881 the headers are to be displayed.
10883 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
10884 and then the subject, you might say something like:
10887 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
10890 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
10891 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
10893 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
10894 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
10895 You can hide further boring headers by setting
10896 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
10897 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
10898 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead it
10899 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
10902 These conditions are:
10905 Remove all empty headers.
10907 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
10908 @code{Newsgroups} header.
10910 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same addresses as
10911 the @code{From} header, or if the @code{broken-reply-to} group
10914 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
10917 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10918 the current group's @code{to-address} parameter.
10920 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
10921 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10923 Remove the @code{CC} header if it only contains the address identical to
10924 the current group's @code{to-list} parameter.
10926 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
10929 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
10931 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
10934 To include these three elements, you could say something like:
10937 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
10938 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
10941 This is also the default value for this variable.
10945 @section Using MIME
10946 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
10948 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
10949 while people stand around yawning.
10951 @acronym{MIME}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
10952 while all newsreaders die of fear.
10954 @acronym{MIME} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
10955 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
10956 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
10958 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
10959 @findex gnus-display-mime
10960 Gnus pushes @acronym{MIME} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
10961 to display the @acronym{MIME} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
10962 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
10963 display, save and manipulate the @acronym{MIME} objects.
10965 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
10966 @acronym{MIME} button:
10969 @findex gnus-article-press-button
10970 @item RET (Article)
10971 @kindex RET (Article)
10972 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
10973 Toggle displaying of the @acronym{MIME} object
10974 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}). If built-in viewers can not display
10975 the object, Gnus resorts to external viewers in the @file{mailcap}
10976 files. If a viewer has the @samp{copiousoutput} specification, the
10977 object is displayed inline.
10979 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
10980 @item M-RET (Article)
10981 @kindex M-RET (Article)
10983 Prompt for a method, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10984 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
10986 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
10988 @kindex t (Article)
10989 View the @acronym{MIME} object as if it were a different @acronym{MIME} media type
10990 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
10992 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset
10994 @kindex C (Article)
10995 Prompt for a charset, and then view the @acronym{MIME} object using this
10996 charset (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-charset}).
10998 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
11000 @kindex o (Article)
11001 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @acronym{MIME} object
11002 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
11004 @findex gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip
11005 @item C-o (Article)
11006 @kindex C-o (Article)
11007 Prompt for a file name, then save the @acronym{MIME} object and strip it from
11008 the article. Then proceed to article editing, where a reasonable
11009 suggestion is being made on how the altered article should look
11010 like. The stripped @acronym{MIME} object will be referred via the
11011 message/external-body @acronym{MIME} type.
11012 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip}).
11014 @findex gnus-mime-delete-part
11016 @kindex d (Article)
11017 Delete the @acronym{MIME} object from the article and replace it with some
11018 information about the removed @acronym{MIME} object
11019 (@code{gnus-mime-delete-part}).
11021 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
11023 @kindex c (Article)
11024 Copy the @acronym{MIME} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
11025 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}). Compressed files like @file{.gz} and
11026 @file{.bz2} are automatically decompressed if
11027 @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled (@pxref{Compressed Files,,
11028 Accessing Compressed Files, emacs, The Emacs Editor}).
11030 @findex gnus-mime-print-part
11032 @kindex p (Article)
11033 Print the @acronym{MIME} object (@code{gnus-mime-print-part}). This
11034 command respects the @samp{print=} specifications in the
11035 @file{.mailcap} file.
11037 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
11039 @kindex i (Article)
11040 Insert the contents of the @acronym{MIME} object into the buffer
11041 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}) as text/plain. If given a prefix, insert
11042 the raw contents without decoding. If given a numerical prefix, you can
11043 do semi-manual charset stuff (see
11044 @code{gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist} in @ref{Paging the
11047 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-internally
11049 @kindex E (Article)
11050 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an internal viewer. If no internal
11051 viewer is available, use an external viewer
11052 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-internally}).
11054 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-externally
11056 @kindex e (Article)
11057 View the @acronym{MIME} object with an external viewer.
11058 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-externally}).
11060 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
11062 @kindex | (Article)
11063 Output the @acronym{MIME} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
11065 @findex gnus-mime-action-on-part
11067 @kindex . (Article)
11068 Interactively run an action on the @acronym{MIME} object
11069 (@code{gnus-mime-action-on-part}).
11073 Gnus will display some @acronym{MIME} objects automatically. The way Gnus
11074 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs
11075 @acronym{MIME} manual.
11077 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
11078 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
11079 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @acronym{MIME} has
11080 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
11081 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
11082 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
11083 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
11084 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
11085 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
11087 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
11089 Also @pxref{MIME Commands}.
11092 @node Customizing Articles
11093 @section Customizing Articles
11094 @cindex article customization
11096 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
11097 exist. You can call these functions interactively
11098 (@pxref{Article Washing}), or you can have them
11099 called automatically when you select the articles.
11101 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
11102 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
11103 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
11104 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
11106 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
11107 for sensible values.
11111 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
11114 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
11117 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
11120 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
11123 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
11127 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
11128 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
11129 regexps in the list.
11132 A list where the first element is not a string:
11134 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
11135 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
11136 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
11140 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
11145 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
11146 to the fact that some messages are @acronym{MIME} multipart articles that may
11147 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
11148 considered to contain just a single part.
11150 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
11151 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
11152 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
11153 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
11154 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
11155 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
11156 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
11158 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
11159 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
11160 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
11161 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
11164 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
11165 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
11167 @xref{Article Buttons}.
11169 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
11170 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
11171 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
11172 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
11173 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
11174 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
11175 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
11176 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
11177 @item gnus-treat-unsplit-urls (t, integer)
11178 @item gnus-treat-wash-html (t, integer)
11180 @xref{Article Washing}.
11182 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
11183 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
11184 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
11185 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
11186 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
11187 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
11188 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
11190 @xref{Article Date}.
11192 @item gnus-treat-from-picon (head)
11193 @item gnus-treat-mail-picon (head)
11194 @item gnus-treat-newsgroups-picon (head)
11198 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
11200 @item gnus-treat-body-boundary (head)
11202 @vindex gnus-body-boundary-delimiter
11203 Adds a delimiter between header and body, the string used as delimiter
11204 is controlled by @code{gnus-body-boundary-delimiter}.
11208 @item gnus-treat-display-x-face (head)
11212 @item gnus-treat-display-face (head)
11216 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
11217 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
11218 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
11219 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
11220 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
11221 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
11222 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
11223 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
11224 @item gnus-treat-strip-banner (t, last)
11225 @item gnus-treat-strip-list-identifiers (head)
11227 @xref{Article Hiding}.
11229 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
11230 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
11231 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
11233 @xref{Article Highlighting}.
11235 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
11236 @item gnus-treat-translate
11237 @item gnus-treat-ansi-sequences (t)
11238 @item gnus-treat-x-pgp-sig (head)
11240 @item gnus-treat-unfold-headers (head)
11241 @item gnus-treat-fold-headers (head)
11242 @item gnus-treat-fold-newsgroups (head)
11243 @item gnus-treat-leading-whitespace (head)
11245 @xref{Article Header}.
11250 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
11251 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
11252 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
11253 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
11254 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
11258 @node Article Keymap
11259 @section Article Keymap
11261 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
11262 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
11263 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
11264 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
11267 A few additional keystrokes are available:
11272 @kindex SPACE (Article)
11273 @findex gnus-article-next-page
11274 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
11275 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h SPACE h}.
11278 @kindex DEL (Article)
11279 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
11280 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
11281 This is exactly the same as @kbd{h DEL h}.
11284 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
11285 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
11286 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
11287 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
11288 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
11291 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
11292 @findex gnus-article-mail
11293 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
11294 given a prefix, include the mail.
11297 @kindex s (Article)
11298 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
11299 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
11300 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
11303 @kindex ? (Article)
11304 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
11305 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
11306 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
11309 @kindex TAB (Article)
11310 @findex gnus-article-next-button
11311 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
11312 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
11315 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
11316 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
11317 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
11320 @kindex R (Article)
11321 @findex gnus-article-reply-with-original
11322 Send a reply to the current article and yank the current article
11323 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}). If given a prefix, make a
11324 wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11328 @kindex F (Article)
11329 @findex gnus-article-followup-with-original
11330 Send a followup to the current article and yank the current article
11331 (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}). If given a prefix, make
11332 a wide reply. If the region is active, only yank the text in the
11340 @section Misc Article
11344 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
11345 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
11346 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
11347 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
11350 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
11351 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
11352 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
11353 Hook used to decode @acronym{MIME} articles. The default value is
11354 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
11356 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
11357 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
11358 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
11359 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
11360 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
11361 the contents of the article buffer.
11363 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
11364 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
11365 Hook called in article mode buffers.
11367 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11368 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
11369 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
11370 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
11372 @vindex gnus-article-over-scroll
11373 @item gnus-article-over-scroll
11374 If non-@code{nil}, allow scrolling the article buffer even when there
11375 no more new text to scroll in. The default is @code{nil}.
11377 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
11378 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
11379 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
11380 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Summary Buffer Mode
11381 Line}). It accepts the same format specifications as that variable,
11382 with two extensions:
11387 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
11388 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
11389 performed. The characters and their meaning:
11394 Displayed when cited text may be hidden in the article buffer.
11397 Displayed when headers are hidden in the article buffer.
11400 Displayed when article is digitally signed or encrypted, and Gnus has
11401 hidden the security headers. (N.B. does not tell anything about
11402 security status, i.e. good or bad signature.)
11405 Displayed when the signature has been hidden in the Article buffer.
11408 Displayed when Gnus has treated overstrike characters in the article buffer.
11411 Displayed when Gnus has treated emphasised strings in the article buffer.
11416 The number of @acronym{MIME} parts in the article.
11420 @vindex gnus-break-pages
11422 @item gnus-break-pages
11423 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
11424 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
11425 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
11426 paging will not be done.
11428 @item gnus-page-delimiter
11429 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
11430 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
11434 @cindex internationalized domain names
11435 @vindex gnus-use-idna
11436 @item gnus-use-idna
11437 This variable controls whether Gnus performs IDNA decoding of
11438 internationalized domain names inside @samp{From}, @samp{To} and
11439 @samp{Cc} headers. This requires
11440 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/libidn/, GNU Libidn}, and this
11441 variable is only enabled if you have installed it.
11446 @node Composing Messages
11447 @chapter Composing Messages
11448 @cindex composing messages
11451 @cindex sending mail
11456 @cindex using s/mime
11457 @cindex using smime
11459 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
11460 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
11461 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
11462 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Overview, message,
11463 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
11464 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
11467 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
11468 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
11469 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
11470 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
11471 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
11472 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
11473 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
11474 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
11475 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
11478 Also @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
11479 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
11485 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
11488 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
11489 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
11490 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
11491 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched. If
11492 @code{nil} include all headers.
11494 @item gnus-add-to-list
11495 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
11496 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
11497 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
11499 @item gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11500 @vindex gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news
11501 This can also be a function receiving the group name as the only
11502 parameter which should return non-@code{nil} if a confirmation is
11503 needed, or a regular expression matching group names, where
11504 confirmation is should be asked for.
11506 If you find yourself never wanting to reply to mail, but occasionally
11507 press R anyway, this variable might be for you.
11509 @item gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11510 @vindex gnus-confirm-treat-mail-like-news
11511 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus also requests confirmation according to
11512 @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} when replying to mail. This is
11513 useful for treating mailing lists like newsgroups.
11518 @node Posting Server
11519 @section Posting Server
11521 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
11522 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
11524 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
11526 It can be quite complicated.
11528 @vindex gnus-post-method
11529 When posting news, Message usually invokes @code{message-send-news}
11530 (@pxref{News Variables, , News Variables, message, Message Manual}).
11531 Normally, Gnus will post using the same select method as you're
11532 reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
11533 groups from different private servers). However. If the server
11534 you're reading from doesn't allow posting, just reading, you probably
11535 want to use some other server to post your (extremely intelligent and
11536 fabulously interesting) articles. You can then set the
11537 @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
11540 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
11543 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
11544 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
11545 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
11546 the ``current'' server, to get back the default behavior, for posting.
11548 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
11549 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
11551 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
11552 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
11555 Finally, if you want to always post using the native select method,
11556 you can set this variable to @code{native}.
11558 When sending mail, Message invokes @code{message-send-mail-function}.
11559 The default function, @code{message-send-mail-with-sendmail}, pipes
11560 your article to the @code{sendmail} binary for further queuing and
11561 sending. When your local system is not configured for sending mail
11562 using @code{sendmail}, and you have access to a remote @acronym{SMTP}
11563 server, you can set @code{message-send-mail-function} to
11564 @code{smtpmail-send-it} and make sure to setup the @code{smtpmail}
11565 package correctly. An example:
11568 (setq message-send-mail-function 'smtpmail-send-it
11569 smtpmail-default-smtp-server "YOUR SMTP HOST")
11572 To the thing similar to this, there is
11573 @code{message-smtpmail-send-it}. It is useful if your @acronym{ISP}
11574 requires the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication.
11575 @xref{POP before SMTP}.
11577 Other possible choices for @code{message-send-mail-function} includes
11578 @code{message-send-mail-with-mh}, @code{message-send-mail-with-qmail},
11579 and @code{feedmail-send-it}.
11581 @node POP before SMTP
11582 @section POP before SMTP
11583 @cindex pop before smtp
11584 @findex message-smtpmail-send-it
11585 @findex mail-source-touch-pop
11587 Does your @acronym{ISP} require the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP}
11588 authentication? It is whether you need to connect to the @acronym{POP}
11589 mail server within a certain time before sending mails. If so, there is
11590 a convenient way. To do that, put the following lines in your
11591 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
11594 (setq message-send-mail-function 'message-smtpmail-send-it)
11595 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook 'mail-source-touch-pop)
11599 It means to let Gnus connect to the @acronym{POP} mail server in advance
11600 whenever you send a mail. The @code{mail-source-touch-pop} function
11601 does only a @acronym{POP} authentication according to the value of
11602 @code{mail-sources} without fetching mails, just before sending a mail.
11603 Note that you have to use @code{message-smtpmail-send-it} which runs
11604 @code{message-send-mail-hook} rather than @code{smtpmail-send-it} and
11605 set the value of @code{mail-sources} for a @acronym{POP} connection
11606 correctly. @xref{Mail Sources}.
11608 If you have two or more @acronym{POP} mail servers set in
11609 @code{mail-sources}, you may want to specify one of them to
11610 @code{mail-source-primary-source} as the @acronym{POP} mail server to be
11611 used for the @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication. If it
11612 is your primary @acronym{POP} mail server (i.e., you are fetching mails
11613 mainly from that server), you can set it permanently as follows:
11616 (setq mail-source-primary-source
11617 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11618 :password "secret"))
11622 Otherwise, bind it dynamically only when performing the
11623 @acronym{POP}-before-@acronym{SMTP} authentication as follows:
11626 (add-hook 'message-send-mail-hook
11628 (let ((mail-source-primary-source
11629 '(pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11630 :password "secret")))
11631 (mail-source-touch-pop))))
11634 @node Mail and Post
11635 @section Mail and Post
11637 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
11641 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
11642 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
11643 @cindex mailing lists
11645 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
11646 gatewayed to the @acronym{NNTP} server, you can read those groups without
11647 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
11648 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
11649 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
11650 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
11651 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
11652 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
11653 still a pain, though.
11655 @item gnus-user-agent
11656 @vindex gnus-user-agent
11659 This variable controls which information should be exposed in the
11660 User-Agent header. It can be one of the symbols @code{gnus} (show only
11661 Gnus version), @code{emacs-gnus} (show only Emacs and Gnus versions),
11662 @code{emacs-gnus-config} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus system
11663 configuration), @code{emacs-gnus-type} (same as @code{emacs-gnus} plus
11664 system type) or a custom string. If you set it to a string, be sure to
11665 use a valid format, see RFC 2616.
11669 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
11670 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
11671 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
11674 @findex ispell-message
11676 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
11679 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
11680 you're in, you could say something like the following:
11683 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
11687 "^de\\." (gnus-group-real-name gnus-newsgroup-name))
11688 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
11690 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
11693 Modify to suit your needs.
11696 @node Archived Messages
11697 @section Archived Messages
11698 @cindex archived messages
11699 @cindex sent messages
11701 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
11702 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
11703 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
11704 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
11707 For archiving interesting messages in a group you read, see the
11708 @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}) command (@pxref{Mail
11711 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
11712 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
11713 use to store sent messages. The default is:
11716 (nnfolder "archive"
11717 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
11718 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
11719 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
11720 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
11723 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
11724 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
11725 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
11726 directory chosen, you could say something like:
11729 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
11730 '(nnfolder "archive"
11731 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
11732 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
11733 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
11736 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
11738 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
11739 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
11740 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
11742 This variable can be used to do the following:
11746 Messages will be saved in that group.
11748 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
11749 message will not be stored in the select method given by
11750 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
11751 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
11752 has the default value shown above. Then setting
11753 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
11754 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
11755 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
11758 @item a list of strings
11759 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
11761 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
11762 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
11765 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
11770 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
11772 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
11775 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
11777 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
11780 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
11782 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11783 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
11784 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
11785 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
11788 More complex stuff:
11790 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11791 '((if (message-news-p)
11796 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
11797 messages in one file per month:
11800 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
11801 '((if (message-news-p)
11803 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
11806 @c (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
11807 @c use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
11809 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
11810 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
11811 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
11812 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
11813 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
11814 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
11815 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
11816 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
11817 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
11818 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
11820 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
11821 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
11822 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
11823 this will disable archiving.
11826 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
11827 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
11828 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
11829 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
11830 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
11833 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
11834 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
11835 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
11838 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
11839 but the latter is the preferred method.
11841 @item gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11842 @vindex gnus-gcc-mark-as-read
11843 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
11845 @item gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11846 @vindex gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments
11847 If @code{nil}, attach files as normal parts in Gcc copies; if a regexp
11848 and matches the Gcc group name, attach files as external parts; if it is
11849 @code{all}, attach local files as external parts; if it is other
11850 non-@code{nil}, the behavior is the same as @code{all}, but it may be
11851 changed in the future.
11856 @node Posting Styles
11857 @section Posting Styles
11858 @cindex posting styles
11861 All them variables, they make my head swim.
11863 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
11864 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
11865 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
11868 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
11869 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
11870 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
11871 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
11872 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
11877 (signature "Peace and happiness")
11878 (organization "What me?"))
11880 (signature "Death to everybody"))
11881 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
11882 (organization "Emacs is it")))
11885 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
11886 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
11887 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
11888 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
11889 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
11890 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
11891 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
11892 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
11894 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
11895 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
11896 If it is the form @code{(header @var{match} @var{regexp})}, then Gnus
11897 will look in the original article for a header whose name is
11898 @var{match} and compare that @var{regexp}. @var{match} and
11899 @var{regexp} are strings. (The original article is the one you are
11900 replying or following up to. If you are not composing a reply or a
11901 followup, then there is nothing to match against.) If the
11902 @code{match} is a function symbol, that function will be called with
11903 no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
11904 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
11905 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is
11906 said to @dfn{match}.
11908 Each style may contain an arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
11909 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} @var{value})} pair. The
11910 attribute name can be one of:
11913 @item @code{signature}
11914 @item @code{signature-file}
11915 @item @code{x-face-file}
11916 @item @code{address}, overriding @code{user-mail-address}
11917 @item @code{name}, overriding @code{(user-full-name)}
11921 The attribute name can also be a string or a symbol. In that case,
11922 this will be used as a header name, and the value will be inserted in
11923 the headers of the article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header
11924 name will be removed. If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form
11925 is evaluated, and the result is thrown away.
11927 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
11928 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
11929 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
11930 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
11931 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
11932 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable, which
11933 is a vector of the following headers: number subject from date id
11934 references chars lines xref extra.
11936 @vindex message-reply-headers
11938 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
11939 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
11940 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
11942 @findex message-mail-p
11943 @findex message-news-p
11945 So here's a new example:
11948 (setq gnus-posting-styles
11950 (signature-file "~/.signature")
11952 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
11953 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
11955 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
11956 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly") ;; @r{A form}
11957 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
11958 (message-news-p ;; @r{A function symbol}
11959 (signature my-news-signature))
11960 (window-system ;; @r{A value symbol}
11961 ("X-Window-System" (format "%s" window-system)))
11962 ;; @r{If I'm replying to Larsi, set the Organization header.}
11963 ((header "from" "larsi.*org")
11964 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
11965 ((posting-from-work-p) ;; @r{A user defined function}
11966 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
11967 (address "user@@bar.foo")
11968 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
11969 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
11971 (From (save-excursion
11972 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
11973 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
11975 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
11978 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
11979 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
11980 if you fill many roles.
11987 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
11988 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
11989 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
11990 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
11991 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
11993 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
11994 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
11995 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
11996 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
11997 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
12001 @vindex nndraft-directory
12002 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
12003 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
12004 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
12005 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
12006 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
12007 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
12009 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
12010 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
12011 unsubscribe it. The special properties of the draft group comes from
12012 a group property (@pxref{Group Parameters}), and if lost the group
12013 behaves like any other group. This means the commands below will not
12014 be available. To restore the special properties of the group, the
12015 simplest way is to kill the group, using @kbd{C-k}, and restart
12016 Gnus. The group is automatically created again with the
12017 correct parameters. The content of the group is not lost.
12019 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
12020 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
12021 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
12022 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
12023 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
12024 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
12025 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
12026 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
12027 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
12028 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
12029 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
12030 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
12031 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
12032 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
12034 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
12035 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
12036 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
12038 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
12039 @kindex D e (Draft)
12040 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
12041 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
12042 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
12044 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
12047 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
12048 @kindex D s (Draft)
12049 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
12050 @kindex D S (Draft)
12051 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
12052 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
12053 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
12054 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
12055 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
12058 @findex gnus-draft-toggle-sending
12059 @kindex D t (Draft)
12060 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
12061 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
12062 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
12065 @node Rejected Articles
12066 @section Rejected Articles
12067 @cindex rejected articles
12069 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
12070 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
12071 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
12072 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
12074 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
12075 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
12076 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
12077 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
12078 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
12080 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
12081 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
12082 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
12084 @node Signing and encrypting
12085 @section Signing and encrypting
12087 @cindex using s/mime
12088 @cindex using smime
12090 Gnus can digitally sign and encrypt your messages, using vanilla
12091 @acronym{PGP} format or @acronym{PGP/MIME} or @acronym{S/MIME}. For
12092 decoding such messages, see the @code{mm-verify-option} and
12093 @code{mm-decrypt-option} options (@pxref{Security}).
12095 @vindex gnus-message-replysign
12096 @vindex gnus-message-replyencrypt
12097 @vindex gnus-message-replysignencrypted
12098 Often, you would like to sign replies to people who send you signed
12099 messages. Even more often, you might want to encrypt messages which
12100 are in reply to encrypted messages. Gnus offers
12101 @code{gnus-message-replysign} to enable the former, and
12102 @code{gnus-message-replyencrypt} for the latter. In addition, setting
12103 @code{gnus-message-replysignencrypted} (on by default) will sign
12104 automatically encrypted messages.
12106 Instructing @acronym{MML} to perform security operations on a
12107 @acronym{MIME} part is done using the @kbd{C-c C-m s} key map for
12108 signing and the @kbd{C-c C-m c} key map for encryption, as follows.
12113 @kindex C-c C-m s s (Message)
12114 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-smime
12116 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12119 @kindex C-c C-m s o (Message)
12120 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12122 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12125 @kindex C-c C-m s p (Message)
12126 @findex mml-secure-message-sign-pgp
12128 Digitally sign current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12131 @kindex C-c C-m c s (Message)
12132 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-smime
12134 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{S/MIME}.
12137 @kindex C-c C-m c o (Message)
12138 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgp
12140 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP}.
12143 @kindex C-c C-m c p (Message)
12144 @findex mml-secure-message-encrypt-pgpmime
12146 Digitally encrypt current message using @acronym{PGP/MIME}.
12149 @kindex C-c C-m C-n (Message)
12150 @findex mml-unsecure-message
12151 Remove security related @acronym{MML} tags from message.
12155 @xref{Security, ,Security, message, Message Manual}, for more information.
12157 @node Select Methods
12158 @chapter Select Methods
12159 @cindex foreign groups
12160 @cindex select methods
12162 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
12163 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
12164 @acronym{NNTP} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
12165 personal mail group.
12167 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
12168 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
12169 list where the first element says what back end to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
12170 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
12171 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
12172 value may have special meaning for the back end in question.
12174 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
12175 we do just that (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
12177 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the back end will recognize the
12180 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @acronym{NNTP} server
12181 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
12182 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
12183 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
12184 back end just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
12186 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
12189 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
12190 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
12191 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
12192 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
12193 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @acronym{IMAP} client.
12194 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
12195 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
12196 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
12200 @node Server Buffer
12201 @section Server Buffer
12203 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
12204 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
12205 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
12206 one back end or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
12207 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
12208 back end represents a virtual server.
12210 For instance, the @code{nntp} back end may be used to connect to several
12211 different actual @acronym{NNTP} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
12212 on the same actual @acronym{NNTP} server. You tell Gnus which back end to
12213 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
12215 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
12216 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
12217 @acronym{NNTP} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
12218 hangs if queried for @acronym{NOV} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
12219 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
12220 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
12221 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
12223 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
12224 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
12227 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
12228 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
12229 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
12230 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
12231 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
12232 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
12233 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
12236 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
12237 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
12240 @node Server Buffer Format
12241 @subsection Server Buffer Format
12242 @cindex server buffer format
12244 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
12245 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
12246 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
12247 variable, with some simple extensions:
12252 How the news is fetched---the back end name.
12255 The name of this server.
12258 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
12261 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
12264 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
12265 The mode line can also be customized by using the
12266 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
12267 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
12277 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
12280 @node Server Commands
12281 @subsection Server Commands
12282 @cindex server commands
12288 @findex gnus-server-add-server
12289 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
12293 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
12294 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
12297 @kindex SPACE (Server)
12298 @findex gnus-server-read-server
12299 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
12303 @findex gnus-server-exit
12304 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
12308 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
12309 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
12313 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
12314 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
12318 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
12319 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
12323 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
12324 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
12328 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
12329 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
12330 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
12335 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
12336 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
12337 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
12338 a mail back end that has gotten out of sync.
12343 @node Example Methods
12344 @subsection Example Methods
12346 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
12349 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
12352 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
12358 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
12359 back end, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
12362 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
12363 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
12365 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
12366 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
12370 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
12373 You should read the documentation to each back end to find out what
12374 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
12376 @code{nnmh} is a mail back end that reads a spool-like structure. Say
12377 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
12378 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
12382 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
12385 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
12388 Here's the method for a public spool:
12392 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
12393 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
12399 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @acronym{NNTP}
12400 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
12401 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12402 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
12403 should probably look something like this:
12407 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
12408 (nntp-via-address "the.firewall.machine")
12409 (nntp-address "the.real.nntp.host")
12410 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12413 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
12414 compressed connection over the modem line, you could add the following
12415 configuration to the example above:
12418 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
12421 See also @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches}.
12423 If you're behind a firewall, but have direct access to the outside world
12424 through a wrapper command like "runsocks", you could open a socksified
12425 telnet connection to the news server as follows:
12429 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12430 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-via-telnet)
12431 (nntp-address "the.news.server")
12432 (nntp-end-of-line "\n"))
12435 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
12436 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
12437 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
12438 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
12441 @node Creating a Virtual Server
12442 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
12444 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
12445 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
12447 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
12448 would probably be best to use @code{nnml} to read the cache. You
12449 could also use @code{nnspool} or @code{nnmh}, though.
12451 Type @kbd{a nnml RET cache RET}.
12453 You should now have a brand new @code{nnml} virtual server called
12454 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
12455 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
12456 will contain the following:
12466 (nnml-directory "~/News/cache/")
12467 (nnml-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
12470 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
12471 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
12472 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
12475 @node Server Variables
12476 @subsection Server Variables
12477 @cindex server variables
12478 @cindex server parameters
12480 One sticky point when defining variables (both on back ends and in Emacs
12481 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
12482 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
12483 change the ``base'' variable after the variables have been loaded, you
12484 won't change the ``derived'' variables.
12486 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
12487 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
12488 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
12489 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
12490 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
12491 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
12492 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
12493 variables for each back end, see each back end's section later in this
12494 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
12498 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
12499 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
12500 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
12503 Server variables are often called @dfn{server parameters}.
12505 @node Servers and Methods
12506 @subsection Servers and Methods
12508 Wherever you would normally use a select method
12509 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
12510 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
12511 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
12515 @node Unavailable Servers
12516 @subsection Unavailable Servers
12518 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
12519 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
12520 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
12521 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
12522 actually the case or not.
12524 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
12525 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
12526 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
12527 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
12528 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
12529 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
12530 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
12531 it will regard that server as ``down''.
12533 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
12534 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
12536 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{Server Buffer}) and poke it
12537 with the following commands:
12543 @findex gnus-server-open-server
12544 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
12545 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
12549 @findex gnus-server-close-server
12550 Close the connection (if any) to the server
12551 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
12555 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
12556 Mark the current server as unreachable
12557 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
12560 @kindex M-o (Server)
12561 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
12562 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
12563 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
12566 @kindex M-c (Server)
12567 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
12568 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
12569 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
12573 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
12574 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
12575 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
12579 @findex gnus-server-offline-server
12580 Set server status to offline (@code{gnus-server-offline-server}).
12586 @section Getting News
12587 @cindex reading news
12588 @cindex news back ends
12590 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
12591 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @acronym{NNTP} server,
12592 or it can read from a local spool.
12595 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12596 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
12604 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @acronym{NNTP} server is rather easy.
12605 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @acronym{NNTP}
12606 server as the, uhm, address.
12608 If the @acronym{NNTP} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
12609 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
12610 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
12611 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12613 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
12614 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
12615 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
12617 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
12622 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
12623 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
12624 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
12626 @cindex authentification
12627 @cindex nntp authentification
12628 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12629 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
12630 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
12631 commands to the @acronym{NNTP} server after it has been contacted. By
12632 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
12633 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
12634 present in this hook.
12636 @item nntp-authinfo-function
12637 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
12638 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
12639 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
12640 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @acronym{NNTP}
12641 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
12642 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
12643 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
12644 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
12645 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
12646 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
12647 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
12651 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
12654 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
12656 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
12657 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
12658 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
12659 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
12660 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
12661 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
12662 @samp{force} is explained below.
12666 Here's an example file:
12669 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
12670 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
12673 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
12674 have to be first, for instance.
12676 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
12677 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
12678 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
12679 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
12680 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
12681 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
12682 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
12684 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
12685 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
12691 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
12692 previously mentioned.
12694 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
12696 @item nntp-server-action-alist
12697 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
12698 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
12699 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
12700 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
12703 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
12704 '(("innd" (ding))))
12707 You probably don't want to do that, though.
12709 The default value is
12712 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
12713 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook
12714 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
12717 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
12718 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
12720 @item nntp-maximum-request
12721 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
12722 If the @acronym{NNTP} server doesn't support @acronym{NOV} headers, this back end
12723 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
12724 speed things up, the back end sends lots of these commands without
12725 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
12726 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
12727 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
12729 @item nntp-connection-timeout
12730 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
12731 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
12732 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @acronym{NNTP} servers not
12733 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
12734 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
12735 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
12736 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} back end should wait for a
12737 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
12738 no timeouts are done.
12740 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
12741 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
12742 @c @cindex PPP connections
12743 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
12744 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
12745 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
12746 @c changes after connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will simply sit
12747 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
12748 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
12749 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
12750 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
12751 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
12752 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
12754 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
12755 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
12756 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
12757 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
12758 @c described above.
12760 @item nntp-server-hook
12761 @vindex nntp-server-hook
12762 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @acronym{NNTP}
12765 @item nntp-buggy-select
12766 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
12767 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
12769 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
12770 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
12771 If the @acronym{NNTP} server does not support @acronym{NOV}, you could set this
12772 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @acronym{NOV}
12775 @item nntp-xover-commands
12776 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
12777 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
12779 List of strings used as commands to fetch @acronym{NOV} lines from a
12780 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
12784 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
12785 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @acronym{NOV} lines to
12786 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
12787 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
12788 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @acronym{NOV}
12789 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
12790 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
12791 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
12792 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
12793 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
12794 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
12796 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
12797 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
12798 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @acronym{NNTP} server.
12800 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12801 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
12802 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
12803 server closes connection.
12805 @item nntp-record-commands
12806 @vindex nntp-record-commands
12807 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
12808 @acronym{NNTP} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
12809 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@acronym{NNTP} connection
12810 that doesn't seem to work.
12812 @item nntp-open-connection-function
12813 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
12814 It is possible to customize how the connection to the nntp server will
12815 be opened. If you specify an @code{nntp-open-connection-function}
12816 parameter, Gnus will use that function to establish the connection.
12817 Five pre-made functions are supplied. These functions can be grouped in
12818 two categories: direct connection functions (three pre-made), and
12819 indirect ones (two pre-made).
12821 @item nntp-prepare-post-hook
12822 @vindex nntp-prepare-post-hook
12823 A hook run just before posting an article. If there is no
12824 @code{Message-ID} header in the article and the news server provides the
12825 recommended ID, it will be added to the article before running this
12826 hook. It is useful to make @code{Cancel-Lock} headers even if you
12827 inhibit Gnus to add a @code{Message-ID} header, you could say:
12830 (add-hook 'nntp-prepare-post-hook 'canlock-insert-header)
12833 Note that not all servers support the recommended ID. This works for
12834 INN versions 2.3.0 and later, for instance.
12836 @item nntp-read-timeout
12837 @vindex nntp-read-timeout
12838 How long nntp should wait between checking for the end of output.
12839 Shorter values mean quicker response, but is more CPU intensive. The
12840 default is 0.1 seconds. If you have a slow line to the server (and
12841 don't like to see Emacs eat your available CPU power), you might set
12847 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
12848 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
12849 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
12853 @node Direct Functions
12854 @subsubsection Direct Functions
12855 @cindex direct connection functions
12857 These functions are called direct because they open a direct connection
12858 between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server. The behavior of these
12859 functions is also affected by commonly understood variables
12860 (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12863 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
12864 @item nntp-open-network-stream
12865 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
12868 @findex nntp-open-tls-stream
12869 @item nntp-open-tls-stream
12870 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12871 this you must have @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/, GNUTLS}
12872 installed. You then define a server as follows:
12875 ;; @r{"nntps" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12876 ;; @r{however, @samp{gnutls-cli -p} doesn't like named ports.}
12878 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12879 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-tls-stream)
12880 (nntp-port-number )
12881 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12884 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
12885 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
12886 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use
12887 this you must have @uref{http://www.openssl.org, OpenSSL} or
12888 @uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL, SSLeay} installed. You
12889 then define a server as follows:
12892 ;; @r{"snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our @file{/etc/services}}
12893 ;; @r{however, @samp{openssl s_client -port} doesn't like named ports.}
12895 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
12896 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
12897 (nntp-port-number 563)
12898 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
12901 @findex nntp-open-telnet-stream
12902 @item nntp-open-telnet-stream
12903 Opens a connection to an @acronym{NNTP} server by simply @samp{telnet}'ing
12904 it. You might wonder why this function exists, since we have the
12905 default @code{nntp-open-network-stream} which would do the job. (One
12906 of) the reason(s) is that if you are behind a firewall but have direct
12907 connections to the outside world thanks to a command wrapper like
12908 @code{runsocks}, you can use it like this:
12912 (nntp-pre-command "runsocks")
12913 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-telnet-stream)
12914 (nntp-address "the.news.server"))
12917 With the default method, you would need to wrap your whole Emacs
12918 session, which is not a good idea.
12922 @node Indirect Functions
12923 @subsubsection Indirect Functions
12924 @cindex indirect connection functions
12926 These functions are called indirect because they connect to an
12927 intermediate host before actually connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server.
12928 All of these functions and related variables are also said to belong to
12929 the ``via'' family of connection: they're all prefixed with ``via'' to make
12930 things cleaner. The behavior of these functions is also affected by
12931 commonly understood variables (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12934 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12935 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet
12936 Does an @samp{rlogin} on a remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet}
12937 to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from there. This is useful for instance if
12938 you need to connect to a firewall machine first.
12940 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet}-specific variables:
12943 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12944 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12945 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12946 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12948 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12949 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12950 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12951 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}. If you use
12952 @samp{ssh} for @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}, you may set this to
12953 @samp{("-C")} in order to compress all data connections, otherwise set
12954 this to @samp{("-t" "-e" "none")} or @samp{("-C" "-t" "-e" "none")} if
12955 the telnet command requires a pseudo-tty allocation on an intermediate
12959 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
12960 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
12962 @item nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
12963 @findex nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat
12964 Does essentially the same, but uses
12965 @uref{http://netcat.sourceforge.net/, netcat} instead of @samp{telnet}
12966 to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the intermediate host.
12968 @code{nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-netcat}-specific variables:
12971 @item nntp-via-netcat-command
12972 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-command
12973 Command used to connect to the real @acronym{NNTP} server from the
12974 intermediate host. The default is @samp{nc}. You can also use other
12975 programs like @uref{http://www.imasy.or.jp/~gotoh/ssh/connect.html,
12978 @item nntp-via-netcat-switches
12979 @vindex nntp-via-netcat-switches
12980 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
12981 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @code{nil}.
12983 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command
12984 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command
12985 Command used to log in on the intermediate host. The default is
12986 @samp{rsh}, but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
12988 @item nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12989 @vindex nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
12990 List of strings to be used as the switches to
12991 @code{nntp-via-rlogin-command}. The default is @code{nil}.
12994 @item nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12995 @findex nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet
12996 Does essentially also the same, but uses @samp{telnet} instead of
12997 @samp{rlogin} to connect to the intermediate host.
12999 @code{nntp-open-via-telnet-and-telnet}-specific variables:
13002 @item nntp-via-telnet-command
13003 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-command
13004 Command used to @code{telnet} the intermediate host. The default is
13007 @item nntp-via-telnet-switches
13008 @vindex nntp-via-telnet-switches
13009 List of strings to be used as the switches to the
13010 @code{nntp-via-telnet-command} command. The default is @samp{("-8")}.
13012 @item nntp-via-user-password
13013 @vindex nntp-via-user-password
13014 Password to use when logging in on the intermediate host.
13016 @item nntp-via-envuser
13017 @vindex nntp-via-envuser
13018 If non-@code{nil}, the intermediate @code{telnet} session (client and
13019 server both) will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for
13020 login name. This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
13022 @item nntp-via-shell-prompt
13023 @vindex nntp-via-shell-prompt
13024 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the intermediate host. The default
13025 is @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
13029 Note that you may want to change the value for @code{nntp-end-of-line}
13030 to @samp{\n} (@pxref{Common Variables}).
13034 Here are some additional variables that are understood by all the above
13039 @item nntp-via-user-name
13040 @vindex nntp-via-user-name
13041 User name to use when connecting to the intermediate host.
13043 @item nntp-via-address
13044 @vindex nntp-via-address
13045 Address of the intermediate host to connect to.
13050 @node Common Variables
13051 @subsubsection Common Variables
13053 The following variables affect the behavior of all, or several of the
13054 pre-made connection functions. When not specified, all functions are
13059 @item nntp-pre-command
13060 @vindex nntp-pre-command
13061 A command wrapper to use when connecting through a non native
13062 connection function (all except @code{nntp-open-network-stream},
13063 @code{nntp-open-tls-stream}, and @code{nntp-open-ssl-stream}. This is
13064 where you would put a @samp{SOCKS} wrapper for instance.
13067 @vindex nntp-address
13068 The address of the @acronym{NNTP} server.
13070 @item nntp-port-number
13071 @vindex nntp-port-number
13072 Port number to connect to the @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13073 @samp{nntp}. If you use @acronym{NNTP} over
13074 @acronym{tls}/@acronym{ssl}, you may want to use integer ports rather
13075 than named ports (i.e, use @samp{563} instead of @samp{snews} or
13076 @samp{nntps}), because external @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} tools may
13077 not work with named ports.
13079 @item nntp-end-of-line
13080 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
13081 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @acronym{NNTP}
13082 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
13083 using a non native telnet connection function.
13085 @item nntp-telnet-command
13086 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
13087 Command to use when connecting to the @acronym{NNTP} server through
13088 @samp{telnet}. This is @emph{not} for an intermediate host. This is
13089 just for the real @acronym{NNTP} server. The default is
13092 @item nntp-telnet-switches
13093 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
13094 A list of switches to pass to @code{nntp-telnet-command}. The default
13101 @subsection News Spool
13105 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
13106 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
13107 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
13110 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
13111 anything else) as the address.
13113 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
13114 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
13115 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
13116 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
13120 @item nnspool-inews-program
13121 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
13122 Program used to post an article.
13124 @item nnspool-inews-switches
13125 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
13126 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
13128 @item nnspool-spool-directory
13129 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
13130 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
13131 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
13133 @item nnspool-nov-directory
13134 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
13135 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @acronym{NOV} files. This is normally@*
13136 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
13138 @item nnspool-lib-dir
13139 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
13140 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
13142 @item nnspool-active-file
13143 @vindex nnspool-active-file
13144 The name of the active file.
13146 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
13147 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
13148 The name of the group descriptions file.
13150 @item nnspool-history-file
13151 @vindex nnspool-history-file
13152 The name of the news history file.
13154 @item nnspool-active-times-file
13155 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
13156 The name of the active date file.
13158 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
13159 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
13160 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @acronym{NOV} files
13163 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13164 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
13166 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
13167 relevant portion from the overview file. If @code{nil},
13168 @code{nnspool} will load the entire file into a buffer and process it
13175 @section Getting Mail
13176 @cindex reading mail
13179 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
13183 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
13184 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
13185 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
13186 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
13187 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
13188 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
13189 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
13190 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
13191 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
13192 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
13193 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
13194 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
13195 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
13199 @node Mail in a Newsreader
13200 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
13202 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
13203 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
13204 of a culture shock.
13206 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
13207 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
13209 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
13210 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
13211 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
13212 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
13214 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
13216 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
13217 deleted? How awful!
13219 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
13220 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
13221 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
13222 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @ref{Expiring
13225 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
13226 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
13227 they want to treat a message.
13229 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
13230 via @acronym{SMTP}, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
13231 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
13232 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
13233 archived somewhere else.
13235 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
13236 These are transported via @acronym{NNTP}, and are therefore news. But we may need
13237 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
13238 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
13239 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
13241 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
13242 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
13243 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
13245 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
13246 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
13249 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
13250 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
13251 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
13252 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
13253 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
13255 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
13256 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
13257 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
13258 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
13259 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
13260 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
13264 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
13265 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
13267 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
13268 mail back end of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
13269 and things will happen automatically.
13271 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a ``one file per
13272 mail'' back end), you could put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
13275 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
13278 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this back end will be queried for new
13279 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
13280 directory, which is @file{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
13281 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
13282 like any other group.
13284 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
13287 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13288 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13289 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13293 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
13294 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
13295 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
13298 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
13299 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
13300 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Back End} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
13303 @node Splitting Mail
13304 @subsection Splitting Mail
13305 @cindex splitting mail
13306 @cindex mail splitting
13307 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
13309 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
13310 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
13311 to be split into groups.
13314 (setq nnmail-split-methods
13315 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13316 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
13317 ("mail.other" "")))
13320 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
13321 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
13322 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
13323 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
13324 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
13325 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
13326 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
13329 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
13332 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13333 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
13334 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
13335 mail belongs in that group.
13337 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
13338 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{*} so that it matches any mails
13339 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
13340 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
13341 rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have crossposting enabled.
13342 In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.) When new groups are
13343 created by splitting mail, you may want to run
13344 @code{gnus-group-find-new-groups} to see the new groups.
13346 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
13347 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
13348 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
13349 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
13350 thinks should carry this mail message.
13352 Note that the mail back ends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
13353 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
13354 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
13355 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
13357 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
13358 The mail back ends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
13359 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
13360 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
13361 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{*}) group.
13363 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
13366 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
13367 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
13368 links. If that's the case for you, set
13369 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
13370 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
13372 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
13373 @findex nnmail-split-history
13374 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
13375 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
13376 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
13377 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
13380 @vindex nnmail-split-header-length-limit
13381 Header lines longer than the value of
13382 @code{nnmail-split-header-length-limit} are excluded from the split
13385 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-charset
13386 @vindex nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes
13387 By default the splitting codes @acronym{MIME} decodes headers so you
13388 can match on non-@acronym{ASCII} strings. The
13389 @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-charset} variable specifies the default
13390 charset for decoding. The behaviour can be turned off completely by
13391 binding @code{nnmail-mail-splitting-decodes} to @code{nil}, which is
13392 useful if you want to match articles based on the raw header data.
13394 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13395 By default, splitting is performed on all incoming messages. If you
13396 specify a @code{directory} entry for the variable @code{mail-sources}
13397 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}), however, then splitting does
13398 @emph{not} happen by default. You can set the variable
13399 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to a non-@code{nil} value to make
13400 splitting happen even in this case. (This variable has no effect on
13401 other kinds of entries.)
13403 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
13404 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
13405 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
13406 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
13407 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
13408 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
13409 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
13410 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
13411 month's rent money.
13415 @subsection Mail Sources
13417 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from
13418 a @acronym{POP} mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a
13419 maildir, for instance.
13422 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
13423 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
13424 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
13428 @node Mail Source Specifiers
13429 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
13431 @cindex mail server
13434 @cindex mail source
13436 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
13437 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
13442 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
13445 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
13446 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
13447 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
13450 The following mail source types are available:
13454 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
13460 The file name. Defaults to the value of the @env{MAIL}
13461 environment variable or the value of @code{rmail-spool-directory}
13462 (usually something like @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}).
13466 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13469 An example file mail source:
13472 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
13475 Or using the default file name:
13481 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best
13482 to use @acronym{POP} or @acronym{IMAP} or the like to fetch the mail.
13483 You can not use ange-ftp file names here---it has no way to lock the
13484 mail spool while moving the mail.
13486 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
13490 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
13493 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
13497 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
13500 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
13502 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
13505 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
13509 @vindex nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once
13510 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used
13511 when you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files.
13512 That is, there is a one-to-one correspondence between files in that
13513 directory and groups, so that mail from the file @file{foo.bar.spool}
13514 will be put in the group @code{foo.bar}. (You can change the suffix
13515 to be used instead of @code{.spool}.) Setting
13516 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-@code{nil} forces
13517 Gnus to scan the mail source only once. This is particularly useful
13518 if you want to scan mail groups at a specified level.
13520 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
13521 There is also the variable @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming}, if you set
13522 that to a non-@code{nil} value, then the normal splitting process is
13523 applied to all the files from the directory, @ref{Splitting Mail}.
13529 The name of the directory where the files are. There is no default
13533 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
13537 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
13538 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
13539 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
13540 predicate are considered.
13544 Script run before/after fetching mail.
13548 An example directory mail source:
13551 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
13556 Get mail from a @acronym{POP} server.
13562 The name of the @acronym{POP} server. The default is taken from the
13563 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13566 The port number of the @acronym{POP} server. This can be a number (eg,
13567 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
13568 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
13569 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
13570 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
13573 The user name to give to the @acronym{POP} server. The default is the login
13577 The password to give to the @acronym{POP} server. If not specified,
13578 the user is prompted.
13581 The program to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. This
13582 should be a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
13585 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
13588 The valid format specifier characters are:
13592 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
13593 included in this string.
13596 The name of the server.
13599 The port number of the server.
13602 The user name to use.
13605 The password to use.
13608 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13609 corresponding keywords.
13612 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13613 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13616 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
13617 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
13620 The function to use to fetch mail from the @acronym{POP} server. The
13621 function is called with one parameter---the name of the file where the
13622 mail should be moved to.
13624 @item :authentication
13625 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
13626 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
13631 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
13632 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
13634 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default @acronym{POP} server,
13635 using the default user name, and default fetcher:
13641 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
13644 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
13645 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
13648 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
13651 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
13655 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
13656 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
13657 contains exactly one mail.
13663 The name of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
13664 taken from the @env{MAILDIR} environment variable or
13667 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
13668 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
13670 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
13671 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
13672 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
13675 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
13676 from locking problems).
13680 Two example maildir mail sources:
13683 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/"
13684 :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
13688 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/"
13693 Get mail from a @acronym{IMAP} server. If you don't want to use
13694 @acronym{IMAP} as intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie
13695 with nnimap), for some reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar
13696 to a @acronym{POP} server and fetches articles from a given
13697 @acronym{IMAP} mailbox. @xref{IMAP}, for more information.
13699 Note that for the Kerberos, GSSAPI, @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} and STARTTLS support you
13700 may need external programs and libraries, @xref{IMAP}.
13706 The name of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is taken from the
13707 @env{MAILHOST} environment variable.
13710 The port number of the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
13711 @samp{993} for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} connections.
13714 The user name to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. The default is the login
13718 The password to give to the @acronym{IMAP} server. If not specified, the user is
13722 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
13723 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
13724 @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{starttls}, @samp{tls},
13725 @samp{ssl}, @samp{shell} or the default @samp{network}.
13727 @item :authentication
13728 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is
13729 one of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now,
13730 this means @samp{gssapi}, @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{digest-md5},
13731 @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default @samp{login}.
13734 When using the `shell' :stream, the contents of this variable is
13735 mapped into the @code{imap-shell-program} variable. This should be a
13736 @code{format}-like string (or list of strings). Here's an example:
13742 The valid format specifier characters are:
13746 The name of the server.
13749 User name from @code{imap-default-user}.
13752 The port number of the server.
13755 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
13756 corresponding keywords.
13759 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
13760 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
13763 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
13764 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
13765 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @acronym{IMAP} client and mark some
13766 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{1:*}.
13767 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
13768 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 section 6.4.4.
13771 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
13772 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
13773 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
13774 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 section 2.3.2.
13777 If non-@code{nil}, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the
13778 mailbox after finishing the fetch.
13782 An example @acronym{IMAP} mail source:
13785 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com"
13787 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
13791 Get mail from a webmail server, such as @uref{http://www.hotmail.com/},
13792 @uref{http://webmail.netscape.com/}, @uref{http://www.netaddress.com/},
13793 @uref{http://mail.yahoo.com/}.
13795 NOTE: Webmail largely depends on cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
13796 required for url "4.0pre.46".
13798 WARNING: Mails may be lost. NO WARRANTY.
13804 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
13805 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
13808 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
13812 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
13816 If non-@code{nil}, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to
13817 trash folder after finishing the fetch.
13821 An example webmail source:
13824 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail
13826 :password "secret")
13831 @item Common Keywords
13832 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
13838 If non-@code{nil}, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you
13839 use directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this
13844 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
13849 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
13850 useful when you use local mail and news.
13855 @subsubsection Function Interface
13857 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
13858 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
13859 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
13860 consider the following mail-source setting:
13863 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
13864 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
13867 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
13868 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
13869 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
13870 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
13871 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
13873 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
13876 @node Mail Source Customization
13877 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
13879 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
13880 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
13884 @item mail-source-crash-box
13885 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
13886 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is@*
13887 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
13889 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
13890 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
13891 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them. If
13892 @code{t}, delete the files immediately, if @code{nil}, never delete any
13893 files. If a positive number, delete files older than number of days
13894 (This will only happen, when receiving new mail). You may also set
13895 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} to @code{nil} and call
13896 @code{mail-source-delete-old-incoming} from a hook or interactively.
13898 @item mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13899 @vindex mail-source-delete-old-incoming-confirm
13900 If non-@code{nil}, ask for for confirmation before deleting old incoming
13901 files. This variable only applies when
13902 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is a positive number.
13904 @item mail-source-ignore-errors
13905 @vindex mail-source-ignore-errors
13906 If non-@code{nil}, ignore errors when reading mail from a mail source.
13908 @item mail-source-directory
13909 @vindex mail-source-directory
13910 Directory where incoming mail source files (if any) will be stored. The
13911 default is @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for
13912 is to say where the incoming files will be stored if the variable
13913 @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil} or a number.
13915 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13916 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
13917 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
13918 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
13919 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
13920 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
13922 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
13923 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
13924 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
13926 @item mail-source-movemail-program
13927 @vindex mail-source-movemail-program
13928 If non-@code{nil}, name of program for fetching new mail. If
13929 @code{nil}, @code{movemail} in @var{exec-directory}.
13934 @node Fetching Mail
13935 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
13937 @vindex mail-sources
13938 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
13939 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
13940 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
13941 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
13943 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
13944 @code{nil}, the mail back ends will never attempt to fetch mail by
13947 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a
13948 @acronym{POP} mail server, you'd say something like:
13953 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13954 :password "secret")))
13957 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
13961 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
13962 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
13965 :password "secret")))
13969 When you use a mail back end, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
13970 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
13971 mail if you're not using a mail back end---you have to do a lot of magic
13972 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
13973 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
13974 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
13978 @node Mail Back End Variables
13979 @subsection Mail Back End Variables
13981 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
13985 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13986 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
13987 The mail back ends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
13988 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
13990 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
13991 @item nnmail-split-hook
13992 @findex gnus-article-decode-encoded-words
13993 @cindex RFC 1522 decoding
13994 @cindex RFC 2047 decoding
13995 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
13996 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
13997 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
13998 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
13999 in the buffer will show up in any files.
14000 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
14003 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14004 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14005 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14006 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14007 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
14008 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
14009 starting to handle the new mail) and
14010 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
14011 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
14012 default file modes the new mail files get:
14015 (add-hook 'nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
14016 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
14018 (add-hook 'nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
14019 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
14022 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
14023 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
14024 If non-@code{nil}, the mail back ends will use long file and directory
14025 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
14026 (assuming use of @code{nnml} back end) or files (assuming use of
14027 @code{nnfolder} back end) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
14028 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
14030 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
14031 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
14032 @findex delete-file
14033 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
14035 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14036 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14037 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
14038 the back end (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
14039 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
14041 @item nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14042 @vindex nnmail-cache-ignore-groups
14043 This can be a regular expression or a list of regular expressions.
14044 Group names that match any of the regular expressions will never be
14045 recorded in the @code{Message-ID} cache.
14047 This can be useful, for example, when using Fancy Splitting
14048 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}) together with the function
14049 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}.
14054 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
14055 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
14056 @cindex mail splitting
14057 @cindex fancy mail splitting
14059 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
14060 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
14061 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
14062 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
14063 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
14064 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
14066 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
14069 ;; @r{Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of}
14070 ;; @r{the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group}
14071 ;; @r{from real errors.}
14072 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
14074 ;; @r{Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant}
14075 ;; @r{groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the}
14076 ;; @r{(ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.}
14077 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
14078 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
14079 ;; @r{Other mailing lists@dots{}}
14080 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
14081 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
14082 ;; @r{Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent}
14083 ;; @r{cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to}
14084 ;; @r{the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the}
14085 ;; @r{message was really cross-posted.}
14086 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
14087 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
14088 ;; @r{People@dots{}}
14089 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
14090 ;; @r{Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.}
14094 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a
14095 (possibly) recursive structure where each split may contain other
14096 splits. Here are the possible split syntaxes:
14101 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name. Normal
14102 regexp match expansion will be done. See below for examples.
14104 @item (@var{field} @var{value} [- @var{restrict} [@dots{}] ] @var{split})
14105 If the split is a list, the first element of which is a string, then
14106 store the message as specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field}
14107 (a regexp) contains @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict}
14108 (yet another regexp) matches some string after @var{field} and before
14109 the end of the matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If
14110 none of the @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
14112 @item (| @var{split} @dots{})
14113 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
14114 bar), then process each @var{split} until one of them matches. A
14115 @var{split} is said to match if it will cause the mail message to be
14116 stored in one or more groups.
14118 @item (& @var{split} @dots{})
14119 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then
14120 process all @var{split}s in the list.
14123 If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save (i.e., delete)
14124 this message. Use with extreme caution.
14126 @item (: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})
14127 If the split is a list, and the first element is @samp{:}, then the
14128 second element will be called as a function with @var{args} given as
14129 arguments. The function should return a @var{split}.
14132 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
14133 body of the messages:
14136 (defun split-on-body ()
14140 (goto-char (point-min))
14141 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
14145 The buffer is narrowed to the message in question when @var{function}
14146 is run. That's why @code{(widen)} needs to be called after
14147 @code{save-excursion} and @code{save-restriction} in the example
14148 above. Also note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will
14149 not be downloaded by default. You need to set
14150 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
14151 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
14153 @item (! @var{func} @var{split})
14154 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{!}, then
14155 @var{split} will be processed, and @var{func} will be called as a
14156 function with the result of @var{split} as argument. @var{func}
14157 should return a split.
14160 If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
14164 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
14165 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
14166 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
14167 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
14168 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
14170 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
14171 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be Lisp symbols, in that case
14172 they are expanded as specified by the variable
14173 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells,
14174 where the @sc{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @sc{cdr}
14175 contains the associated value. Predefined entries in
14176 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist} include:
14180 Matches the @samp{From}, @samp{Sender} and @samp{Resent-From} fields.
14182 Matches the @samp{To}, @samp{Cc}, @samp{Apparently-To},
14183 @samp{Resent-To} and @samp{Resent-Cc} fields.
14185 Is the union of the @code{from} and @code{to} entries.
14188 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
14189 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
14190 when all this splitting is performed.
14192 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
14193 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
14194 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
14197 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
14200 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
14201 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
14203 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
14204 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
14205 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
14206 groupings 1 through 9.
14208 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words
14209 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} controls whether partial
14210 words are matched during fancy splitting.
14212 Normally, regular expressions given in @code{nnmail-split-fancy} are
14213 implicitly surrounded by @code{\<...\>} markers, which are word
14214 delimiters. If this variable is true, they are not implicitly
14215 surrounded by anything.
14218 (any "joe" "joemail")
14221 In this example, messages sent from @samp{joedavis@@foo.org} will
14222 normally not be filed in @samp{joemail}. With
14223 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-match-partial-words} set to t, however, the
14224 match will happen. In effect, the requirement of a word boundary is
14225 removed and instead the match becomes more like a grep.
14227 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
14228 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
14229 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
14230 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
14231 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
14232 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
14233 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
14234 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
14235 it once per thread.
14237 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates}
14238 and @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} to a non-@code{nil}
14239 value. And then you can include @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent}
14240 using the colon feature, like so:
14242 (setq nnmail-treat-duplicates 'warn ; @r{or @code{delete}}
14243 nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids t
14245 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
14246 ;; @r{other splits go here}
14250 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
14251 non-@code{nil}, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees
14252 in the file specified by the variable
14253 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, together with the group it is in
14254 (the group is omitted for non-mail messages). When mail splitting is
14255 invoked, the function @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks
14256 at the References (and In-Reply-To) header of each message to split
14257 and searches the file specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}
14258 for the message ids. When it has found a parent, it returns the
14259 corresponding group name unless the group name matches the regexp
14260 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent-ignore-groups}. It is
14261 recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
14262 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
14263 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some
14264 300 kBytes in size.)
14265 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
14266 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
14267 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
14268 messages goes into the new group.
14270 Also see the variable @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} if you don't
14271 want certain groups to be recorded in the cache. For example, if all
14272 outgoing messages are written to an ``outgoing'' group, you could set
14273 @code{nnmail-cache-ignore-groups} to match that group name.
14274 Otherwise, answers to all your messages would end up in the
14275 ``outgoing'' group.
14278 @node Group Mail Splitting
14279 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
14280 @cindex mail splitting
14281 @cindex group mail splitting
14283 @findex gnus-group-split
14284 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
14285 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
14286 You just have to set @code{to-list} and/or @code{to-address} in group
14287 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
14288 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
14289 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
14290 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @code{to-list} or
14291 @code{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
14293 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
14294 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @code{extra-aliases} group
14295 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
14296 rather use a regular expression, set @code{split-regexp}.
14298 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
14299 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
14300 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
14301 @code{to-list}, @code{to-address}, all of @code{extra-aliases} and all
14302 matches of @code{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
14303 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
14304 @code{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
14306 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
14307 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
14308 parameter @code{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
14309 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
14310 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @code{split-spec} may be set to
14311 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
14312 @code{gnus-group-split}.
14314 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
14315 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
14316 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
14317 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
14318 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
14319 some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
14320 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
14321 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
14322 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
14323 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
14324 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
14325 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
14326 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
14328 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
14333 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
14334 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
14336 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
14337 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
14338 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
14339 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
14341 ((split-spec . catch-all))
14344 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
14345 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
14346 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
14349 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
14350 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
14351 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
14355 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
14356 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
14357 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
14361 (: gnus-group-split-fancy @var{groups} @var{no-crosspost} @var{catch-all})
14364 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
14365 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
14366 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
14367 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fall back
14368 fancy split, used like @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
14369 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @code{split-regexp} matches the
14370 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
14371 Otherwise, if some group has @code{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
14372 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
14374 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
14375 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
14376 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
14377 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
14378 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
14379 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
14380 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
14381 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
14382 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
14384 @findex gnus-group-split-update
14385 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
14386 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
14387 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
14388 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
14389 you. For example, add to your @file{~/.gnus.el}:
14392 (gnus-group-split-setup @var{auto-update} @var{catch-all})
14395 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
14396 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
14397 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
14398 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
14399 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
14402 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
14403 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
14404 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
14405 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
14407 @node Incorporating Old Mail
14408 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
14409 @cindex incorporating old mail
14410 @cindex import old mail
14412 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
14413 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
14414 back ends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
14417 Doing so can be quite easy.
14419 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
14420 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
14421 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
14422 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
14423 your @code{nnml} groups.
14429 Go to the group buffer.
14432 Type @kbd{G f} and give the file name to the mbox file when prompted to create an
14433 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
14436 Type @kbd{SPACE} to enter the newly created group.
14439 Type @kbd{M P b} to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
14440 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14443 Type @kbd{B r} to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
14444 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
14447 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
14448 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
14449 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
14450 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
14451 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
14453 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
14454 back end to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
14455 using the new mail back end.
14458 @node Expiring Mail
14459 @subsection Expiring Mail
14460 @cindex article expiry
14462 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
14463 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
14464 different approach to mail reading.
14466 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
14467 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
14468 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
14469 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
14470 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
14471 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
14474 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
14475 articles as @dfn{expirable}. (With the default key bindings, this means
14476 that you have to type @kbd{E}.) This does not mean that the articles
14477 will disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
14478 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
14479 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
14480 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
14481 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
14482 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
14484 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Gnus provides
14485 two features, called ``auto-expire'' and ``total-expire'', that can help you
14486 with this. In a nutshell, ``auto-expire'' means that Gnus hits @kbd{E}
14487 for you when you select an article. And ``total-expire'' means that Gnus
14488 considers all articles as expirable that are read. So, in addition to
14489 the articles marked @samp{E}, also the articles marked @samp{r},
14490 @samp{R}, @samp{O}, @samp{K}, @samp{Y} and so on are considered
14493 When should either auto-expire or total-expire be used? Most people
14494 who are subscribed to mailing lists split each list into its own group
14495 and then turn on auto-expire or total-expire for those groups.
14496 (@xref{Splitting Mail}, for more information on splitting each list
14497 into its own group.)
14499 Which one is better, auto-expire or total-expire? It's not easy to
14500 answer. Generally speaking, auto-expire is probably faster. Another
14501 advantage of auto-expire is that you get more marks to work with: for
14502 the articles that are supposed to stick around, you can still choose
14503 between tick and dormant and read marks. But with total-expire, you
14504 only have dormant and ticked to choose from. The advantage of
14505 total-expire is that it works well with adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive
14506 Scoring}). Auto-expire works with normal scoring but not with adaptive
14509 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14510 Groups that match the regular expression
14511 @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will have all articles that you
14512 read marked as expirable automatically. All articles marked as
14513 expirable have an @samp{E} in the first column in the summary buffer.
14515 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
14516 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
14517 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
14518 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
14519 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
14521 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
14523 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
14524 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
14525 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
14528 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
14529 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
14530 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
14531 articles expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
14532 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
14534 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
14535 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
14538 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
14539 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
14542 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
14543 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
14545 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
14546 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
14547 don't really mix very well.
14549 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
14550 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
14551 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
14552 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
14555 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
14556 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
14557 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
14558 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
14561 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14563 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
14565 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
14567 ((string= group "mail.junk")
14569 ((string= group "important")
14575 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
14576 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
14578 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
14579 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
14580 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
14583 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
14584 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
14586 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
14587 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
14588 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them
14589 to other groups instead of deleting them. The variable
14590 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} (and the @code{expiry-target} group
14591 parameter) controls this. The variable supplies a default value for
14592 all groups, which can be overridden for specific groups by the group
14593 parameter. default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a
14594 string (which should be the name of the group the message should be
14595 moved to), or a function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to
14596 the message in question, and with the name of the group being moved
14597 from as its parameter) which should return a target---either a group
14598 name or @code{delete}.
14600 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
14602 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
14605 @findex nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14606 @vindex nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14607 Gnus provides a function @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-target} which will
14608 expire mail to groups according to the variable
14609 @code{nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets}. Here's an example:
14612 (setq nnmail-expiry-target 'nnmail-fancy-expiry-target
14613 nnmail-fancy-expiry-targets
14614 '((to-from "boss" "nnfolder:Work")
14615 ("subject" "IMPORTANT" "nnfolder:IMPORTANT.%Y.%b")
14616 ("from" ".*" "nnfolder:Archive-%Y")))
14619 With this setup, any mail that has @code{IMPORTANT} in its Subject
14620 header and was sent in the year @code{YYYY} and month @code{MMM}, will
14621 get expired to the group @code{nnfolder:IMPORTANT.YYYY.MMM}. If its
14622 From or To header contains the string @code{boss}, it will get expired
14623 to @code{nnfolder:Work}. All other mail will get expired to
14624 @code{nnfolder:Archive-YYYY}.
14626 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
14627 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
14628 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
14629 easier for procmail users.
14631 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
14632 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
14633 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
14634 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
14635 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
14636 caution. Even more dangerous is the
14637 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
14638 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
14639 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
14640 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
14641 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
14642 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
14643 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
14646 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
14648 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
14649 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
14650 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
14651 auto-expire turned on.
14655 @subsection Washing Mail
14656 @cindex mail washing
14657 @cindex list server brain damage
14658 @cindex incoming mail treatment
14660 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
14661 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
14662 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
14663 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
14664 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
14665 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
14667 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
14668 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
14669 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
14672 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
14673 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
14674 storing the mail to disk. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
14675 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
14678 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14679 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
14680 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
14681 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
14682 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
14685 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14686 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
14687 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
14688 Emacs running on MS machines.
14692 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14693 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
14694 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
14695 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
14698 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14699 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
14700 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
14701 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
14703 (Note that this function works on both the header on the body of all
14704 messages, so it is a potentially dangerous function to use (if a body
14705 of a message contains something that looks like a header line). So
14706 rather than fix the bug, it is of course the right solution to make it
14707 into a feature by documenting it.)
14709 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14710 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
14711 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
14712 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
14713 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
14714 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
14715 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
14718 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
14719 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
14722 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
14723 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
14726 This can also be done non-destructively with
14727 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
14729 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
14730 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
14731 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
14733 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14734 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
14736 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
14737 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
14738 @code{References} headers.
14742 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14743 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
14744 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
14748 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
14749 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
14750 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
14757 @subsection Duplicates
14759 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
14760 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
14761 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
14762 @cindex duplicate mails
14763 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
14764 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
14765 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
14766 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
14767 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
14768 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
14769 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
14770 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
14771 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
14772 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
14773 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
14774 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
14775 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
14777 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
14778 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
14779 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
14780 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
14782 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
14785 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
14786 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
14790 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
14791 '(| ;; @r{Messages duplicates go to a separate group.}
14792 ("gnus-warning" "duplicat\\(e\\|ion\\) of message" "duplicate")
14793 ;; @r{Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.}
14794 (any mail "mail.misc")
14795 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14801 (setq nnmail-split-methods
14802 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:.*duplicate")
14803 ;; @r{Other rules.}
14807 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
14808 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
14809 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
14810 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
14811 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
14814 @node Not Reading Mail
14815 @subsection Not Reading Mail
14817 If you start using any of the mail back ends, they have the annoying
14818 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
14819 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
14821 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
14822 @code{nil}, none of the back ends will ever attempt to read incoming
14823 mail, which should help.
14825 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14826 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14827 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14828 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
14829 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
14830 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
14831 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old Rmail
14832 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All back ends have
14833 variables called back-end-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
14834 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
14835 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
14837 All the mail back ends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
14838 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
14842 @node Choosing a Mail Back End
14843 @subsection Choosing a Mail Back End
14845 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
14846 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
14847 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
14849 There are six different mail back ends in the standard Gnus, and more
14850 back ends are available separately. The mail back end most people use
14851 (because it is possibly the fastest) is @code{nnml} (@pxref{Mail
14855 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
14856 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the Rmail Babyl format.
14857 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
14858 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
14859 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
14860 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
14861 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
14865 @node Unix Mail Box
14866 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
14868 @cindex unix mail box
14870 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14871 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14872 The @dfn{nnmbox} back end will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
14873 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
14874 which group it belongs in.
14876 Virtual server settings:
14879 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
14880 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
14881 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory. Default is
14884 @item nnmbox-active-file
14885 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
14886 The name of the active file for the mail box. Default is
14887 @file{~/.mbox-active}.
14889 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
14890 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
14891 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
14892 into groups. Default is @code{t}.
14897 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
14901 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14902 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14903 The @dfn{nnbabyl} back end will use a Babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{Rmail
14904 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
14905 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
14907 Virtual server settings:
14910 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
14911 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
14912 The name of the Rmail mbox file. The default is @file{~/RMAIL}
14914 @item nnbabyl-active-file
14915 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
14916 The name of the active file for the rmail box. The default is
14917 @file{~/.rmail-active}
14919 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14920 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
14921 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail. Default is
14927 @subsubsection Mail Spool
14929 @cindex mail @acronym{NOV} spool
14931 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
14932 format. It should be used with some caution.
14934 @vindex nnml-directory
14935 If you use this back end, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
14936 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
14937 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
14938 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
14940 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
14943 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
14944 in your account, you should not use this back end. As each mail gets its
14945 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
14946 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
14947 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
14948 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
14949 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
14950 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
14952 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest back end when it comes to article
14953 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
14954 @acronym{NOV} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it possibly the
14955 fastest back end when it comes to reading mail.
14957 @cindex self contained nnml servers
14959 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnml}
14960 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
14961 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
14962 proper @code{nnml} server) and have all your marks be preserved. Marks
14963 for a group is usually stored in the @code{.marks} file (but see
14964 @code{nnml-marks-file-name}) within each @code{nnml} group's directory.
14965 Individual @code{nnml} groups are also possible to backup, use @kbd{G m}
14966 to restore the group (after restoring the backup into the nnml
14969 If for some reason you believe your @file{.marks} files are screwed
14970 up, you can just delete them all. Gnus will then correctly regenerate
14971 them next time it starts.
14973 Virtual server settings:
14976 @item nnml-directory
14977 @vindex nnml-directory
14978 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory. The
14979 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default value
14982 @item nnml-active-file
14983 @vindex nnml-active-file
14984 The active file for the @code{nnml} server. The default is
14985 @file{~/Mail/active}.
14987 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
14988 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
14989 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
14990 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}.
14992 @item nnml-get-new-mail
14993 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
14994 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail. The default is
14997 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
14998 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
14999 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15000 default is @code{nil}.
15002 @item nnml-nov-file-name
15003 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
15004 The name of the @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
15006 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15007 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
15008 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
15010 @item nnml-marks-is-evil
15011 @vindex nnml-marks-is-evil
15012 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15013 default is @code{nil}.
15015 @item nnml-marks-file-name
15016 @vindex nnml-marks-file-name
15017 The name of the @dfn{marks} files. The default is @file{.marks}.
15019 @item nnml-use-compressed-files
15020 @vindex nnml-use-compressed-files
15021 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will allow using compressed message
15026 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
15027 If your @code{nnml} groups and @acronym{NOV} files get totally out of
15028 whack, you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
15029 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
15030 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
15031 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
15032 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
15037 @subsubsection MH Spool
15039 @cindex mh-e mail spool
15041 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
15042 @acronym{NOV} databases and it doesn't keep an active file or marks
15043 file. This makes @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower back end than
15044 @code{nnml}, but it also makes it easier to write procmail scripts
15047 Virtual server settings:
15050 @item nnmh-directory
15051 @vindex nnmh-directory
15052 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory. The
15053 default is the value of @code{message-directory} (whose default is
15056 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
15057 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
15058 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail. The default is
15062 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
15063 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
15064 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks
15065 they are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
15066 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
15067 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not
15068 have to set this variable to @code{t}. The default is @code{nil}.
15073 @subsubsection Maildir
15077 @code{nnmaildir} stores mail in the maildir format, with each maildir
15078 corresponding to a group in Gnus. This format is documented here:
15079 @uref{http://cr.yp.to/proto/maildir.html} and here:
15080 @uref{http://www.qmail.org/man/man5/maildir.html}. @code{nnmaildir}
15081 also stores extra information in the @file{.nnmaildir/} directory
15084 Maildir format was designed to allow concurrent deliveries and
15085 reading, without needing locks. With other back ends, you would have
15086 your mail delivered to a spool of some kind, and then you would
15087 configure Gnus to split mail from that spool into your groups. You
15088 can still do that with @code{nnmaildir}, but the more common
15089 configuration is to have your mail delivered directly to the maildirs
15090 that appear as group in Gnus.
15092 @code{nnmaildir} is designed to be perfectly reliable: @kbd{C-g} will
15093 never corrupt its data in memory, and @code{SIGKILL} will never
15094 corrupt its data in the filesystem.
15096 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks and @acronym{NOV} data in each
15097 maildir. So you can copy a whole maildir from one Gnus setup to
15098 another, and you will keep your marks.
15100 Virtual server settings:
15104 For each of your @code{nnmaildir} servers (it's very unlikely that
15105 you'd need more than one), you need to create a directory and populate
15106 it with maildirs or symlinks to maildirs (and nothing else; do not
15107 choose a directory already used for other purposes). Each maildir
15108 will be represented in Gnus as a newsgroup on that server; the
15109 filename of the symlink will be the name of the group. Any filenames
15110 in the directory starting with @samp{.} are ignored. The directory is
15111 scanned when you first start Gnus, and each time you type @kbd{g} in
15112 the group buffer; if any maildirs have been removed or added,
15113 @code{nnmaildir} notices at these times.
15115 The value of the @code{directory} parameter should be a Lisp form
15116 which is processed by @code{eval} and @code{expand-file-name} to get
15117 the path of the directory for this server. The form is @code{eval}ed
15118 only when the server is opened; the resulting string is used until the
15119 server is closed. (If you don't know about forms and @code{eval},
15120 don't worry---a simple string will work.) This parameter is not
15121 optional; you must specify it. I don't recommend using
15122 @code{"~/Mail"} or a subdirectory of it; several other parts of Gnus
15123 use that directory by default for various things, and may get confused
15124 if @code{nnmaildir} uses it too. @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} is a typical
15127 @item target-prefix
15128 This should be a Lisp form which is processed by @code{eval} and
15129 @code{expand-file-name}. The form is @code{eval}ed only when the
15130 server is opened; the resulting string is used until the server is
15133 When you create a group on an @code{nnmaildir} server, the maildir is
15134 created with @code{target-prefix} prepended to its name, and a symlink
15135 pointing to that maildir is created, named with the plain group name.
15136 So if @code{directory} is @code{"~/.nnmaildir"} and
15137 @code{target-prefix} is @code{"../maildirs/"}, then when you create
15138 the group @code{foo}, @code{nnmaildir} will create
15139 @file{~/.nnmaildir/../maildirs/foo} as a maildir, and will create
15140 @file{~/.nnmaildir/foo} as a symlink pointing to
15141 @file{../maildirs/foo}.
15143 You can set @code{target-prefix} to a string without any slashes to
15144 create both maildirs and symlinks in the same @code{directory}; in
15145 this case, any maildirs found in @code{directory} whose names start
15146 with @code{target-prefix} will not be listed as groups (but the
15147 symlinks pointing to them will be).
15149 As a special case, if @code{target-prefix} is @code{""} (the default),
15150 then when you create a group, the maildir will be created in
15151 @code{directory} without a corresponding symlink. Beware that you
15152 cannot use @code{gnus-group-delete-group} on such groups without the
15153 @code{force} argument.
15155 @item directory-files
15156 This should be a function with the same interface as
15157 @code{directory-files} (such as @code{directory-files} itself). It is
15158 used to scan the server's @code{directory} for maildirs. This
15159 parameter is optional; the default is
15160 @code{nnheader-directory-files-safe} if
15161 @code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is @code{nil}, and
15162 @code{directory-files} otherwise.
15163 (@code{nnheader-directory-files-is-safe} is checked only once when the
15164 server is opened; if you want to check it each time the directory is
15165 scanned, you'll have to provide your own function that does that.)
15168 If non-@code{nil}, then after scanning for new mail in the group
15169 maildirs themselves as usual, this server will also incorporate mail
15170 the conventional Gnus way, from @code{mail-sources} according to
15171 @code{nnmail-split-methods} or @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. The default
15172 value is @code{nil}.
15174 Do @emph{not} use the same maildir both in @code{mail-sources} and as
15175 an @code{nnmaildir} group. The results might happen to be useful, but
15176 that would be by chance, not by design, and the results might be
15177 different in the future. If your split rules create new groups,
15178 remember to supply a @code{create-directory} server parameter.
15181 @subsubsection Group parameters
15183 @code{nnmaildir} uses several group parameters. It's safe to ignore
15184 all this; the default behavior for @code{nnmaildir} is the same as the
15185 default behavior for other mail back ends: articles are deleted after
15186 one week, etc. Except for the expiry parameters, all this
15187 functionality is unique to @code{nnmaildir}, so you can ignore it if
15188 you're just trying to duplicate the behavior you already have with
15191 If the value of any of these parameters is a vector, the first element
15192 is evaluated as a Lisp form and the result is used, rather than the
15193 original value. If the value is not a vector, the value itself is
15194 evaluated as a Lisp form. (This is why these parameters use names
15195 different from those of other, similar parameters supported by other
15196 back ends: they have different, though similar, meanings.) (For
15197 numbers, strings, @code{nil}, and @code{t}, you can ignore the
15198 @code{eval} business again; for other values, remember to use an extra
15199 quote and wrap the value in a vector when appropriate.)
15203 An integer specifying the minimum age, in seconds, of an article
15204 before it will be expired, or the symbol @code{never} to specify that
15205 articles should never be expired. If this parameter is not set,
15206 @code{nnmaildir} falls back to the usual
15207 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) variables (overrideable by
15208 the @code{expiry-wait}(@code{-function}) group parameters. If you
15209 wanted a value of 3 days, you could use something like @code{[(* 3 24
15210 60 60)]}; @code{nnmaildir} will evaluate the form and use the result.
15211 An article's age is measured starting from the article file's
15212 modification time. Normally, this is the same as the article's
15213 delivery time, but editing an article makes it younger. Moving an
15214 article (other than via expiry) may also make an article younger.
15217 If this is set to a string such as a full Gnus group name, like
15219 "backend+server.address.string:group.name"
15221 and if it is not the name of the same group that the parameter belongs
15222 to, then articles will be moved to the specified group during expiry
15223 before being deleted. @emph{If this is set to an @code{nnmaildir}
15224 group, the article will be just as old in the destination group as it
15225 was in the source group.} So be careful with @code{expire-age} in the
15226 destination group. If this is set to the name of the same group that
15227 the parameter belongs to, then the article is not expired at all. If
15228 you use the vector form, the first element is evaluated once for each
15229 article. So that form can refer to
15230 @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name}, etc., to decide where to put the
15231 article. @emph{If this parameter is not set, @code{nnmaildir} does
15232 not fall back to the @code{expiry-target} group parameter or the
15233 @code{nnmail-expiry-target} variable.}
15236 If this is set to @code{t}, @code{nnmaildir} will treat the articles
15237 in this maildir as read-only. This means: articles are not renamed
15238 from @file{new/} into @file{cur/}; articles are only found in
15239 @file{new/}, not @file{cur/}; articles are never deleted; articles
15240 cannot be edited. @file{new/} is expected to be a symlink to the
15241 @file{new/} directory of another maildir---e.g., a system-wide mailbox
15242 containing a mailing list of common interest. Everything in the
15243 maildir outside @file{new/} is @emph{not} treated as read-only, so for
15244 a shared mailbox, you do still need to set up your own maildir (or
15245 have write permission to the shared mailbox); your maildir just won't
15246 contain extra copies of the articles.
15248 @item directory-files
15249 A function with the same interface as @code{directory-files}. It is
15250 used to scan the directories in the maildir corresponding to this
15251 group to find articles. The default is the function specified by the
15252 server's @code{directory-files} parameter.
15254 @item distrust-Lines:
15255 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmaildir} will always count the lines of an
15256 article, rather than use the @code{Lines:} header field. If
15257 @code{nil}, the header field will be used if present.
15260 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(read expire)]}. Whenever
15261 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15262 say that all articles have these marks, regardless of whether the
15263 marks stored in the filesystem say so. This is a proof-of-concept
15264 feature that will probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done
15265 in Gnus proper, or abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15268 A list of mark symbols, such as @code{['(tick expire)]}. Whenever
15269 Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for article marks, @code{nnmaildir} will
15270 say that no articles have these marks, regardless of whether the marks
15271 stored in the filesystem say so. @code{never-marks} overrides
15272 @code{always-marks}. This is a proof-of-concept feature that will
15273 probably be removed eventually; it ought to be done in Gnus proper, or
15274 abandoned if it's not worthwhile.
15276 @item nov-cache-size
15277 An integer specifying the size of the @acronym{NOV} memory cache. To
15278 speed things up, @code{nnmaildir} keeps @acronym{NOV} data in memory
15279 for a limited number of articles in each group. (This is probably not
15280 worthwhile, and will probably be removed in the future.) This
15281 parameter's value is noticed only the first time a group is seen after
15282 the server is opened---i.e., when you first start Gnus, typically.
15283 The @acronym{NOV} cache is never resized until the server is closed
15284 and reopened. The default is an estimate of the number of articles
15285 that would be displayed in the summary buffer: a count of articles
15286 that are either marked with @code{tick} or not marked with
15287 @code{read}, plus a little extra.
15290 @subsubsection Article identification
15291 Articles are stored in the @file{cur/} subdirectory of each maildir.
15292 Each article file is named like @code{uniq:info}, where @code{uniq}
15293 contains no colons. @code{nnmaildir} ignores, but preserves, the
15294 @code{:info} part. (Other maildir readers typically use this part of
15295 the filename to store marks.) The @code{uniq} part uniquely
15296 identifies the article, and is used in various places in the
15297 @file{.nnmaildir/} subdirectory of the maildir to store information
15298 about the corresponding article. The full pathname of an article is
15299 available in the variable @code{nnmaildir-article-file-name} after you
15300 request the article in the summary buffer.
15302 @subsubsection NOV data
15303 An article identified by @code{uniq} has its @acronym{NOV} data (used
15304 to generate lines in the summary buffer) stored in
15305 @code{.nnmaildir/nov/uniq}. There is no
15306 @code{nnmaildir-generate-nov-databases} function. (There isn't much
15307 need for it---an article's @acronym{NOV} data is updated automatically
15308 when the article or @code{nnmail-extra-headers} has changed.) You can
15309 force @code{nnmaildir} to regenerate the @acronym{NOV} data for a
15310 single article simply by deleting the corresponding @acronym{NOV}
15311 file, but @emph{beware}: this will also cause @code{nnmaildir} to
15312 assign a new article number for this article, which may cause trouble
15313 with @code{seen} marks, the Agent, and the cache.
15315 @subsubsection Article marks
15316 An article identified by @code{uniq} is considered to have the mark
15317 @code{flag} when the file @file{.nnmaildir/marks/flag/uniq} exists.
15318 When Gnus asks @code{nnmaildir} for a group's marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15319 looks for such files and reports the set of marks it finds. When Gnus
15320 asks @code{nnmaildir} to store a new set of marks, @code{nnmaildir}
15321 creates and deletes the corresponding files as needed. (Actually,
15322 rather than create a new file for each mark, it just creates hard
15323 links to @file{.nnmaildir/markfile}, to save inodes.)
15325 You can invent new marks by creating a new directory in
15326 @file{.nnmaildir/marks/}. You can tar up a maildir and remove it from
15327 your server, untar it later, and keep your marks. You can add and
15328 remove marks yourself by creating and deleting mark files. If you do
15329 this while Gnus is running and your @code{nnmaildir} server is open,
15330 it's best to exit all summary buffers for @code{nnmaildir} groups and
15331 type @kbd{s} in the group buffer first, and to type @kbd{g} or
15332 @kbd{M-g} in the group buffer afterwards. Otherwise, Gnus might not
15333 pick up the changes, and might undo them.
15337 @subsubsection Mail Folders
15339 @cindex mbox folders
15340 @cindex mail folders
15342 @code{nnfolder} is a back end for storing each mail group in a
15343 separate file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format.
15344 @code{nnfolder} will add extra headers to keep track of article
15345 numbers and arrival dates.
15347 @cindex self contained nnfolder servers
15349 When the marks file is used (which it is by default), @code{nnfolder}
15350 servers have the property that you may backup them using @code{tar} or
15351 similar, and later be able to restore them into Gnus (by adding the
15352 proper @code{nnfolder} server) and have all your marks be preserved.
15353 Marks for a group is usually stored in a file named as the mbox file
15354 with @code{.mrk} concatenated to it (but see
15355 @code{nnfolder-marks-file-suffix}) within the @code{nnfolder}
15356 directory. Individual @code{nnfolder} groups are also possible to
15357 backup, use @kbd{G m} to restore the group (after restoring the backup
15358 into the @code{nnfolder} directory).
15360 Virtual server settings:
15363 @item nnfolder-directory
15364 @vindex nnfolder-directory
15365 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this
15366 directory. The default is the value of @code{message-directory}
15367 (whose default is @file{~/Mail})
15369 @item nnfolder-active-file
15370 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
15371 The name of the active file. The default is @file{~/Mail/active}.
15373 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15374 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
15375 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
15376 Format}. The default is @file{~/Mail/newsgroups}
15378 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
15379 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
15380 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail. The
15381 default is @code{t}
15383 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15384 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
15385 @cindex backup files
15386 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
15387 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If
15388 you wish to switch this off, you could say something like the
15389 following in your @file{.emacs} file:
15392 (defun turn-off-backup ()
15393 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
15395 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
15398 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15399 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
15400 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
15401 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
15402 extract some information from it before removing it.
15404 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15405 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
15406 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @acronym{NOV} files. The
15407 default is @code{nil}.
15409 @item nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15410 @vindex nnfolder-nov-file-suffix
15411 The extension for @acronym{NOV} files. The default is @file{.nov}.
15413 @item nnfolder-nov-directory
15414 @vindex nnfolder-nov-directory
15415 The directory where the @acronym{NOV} files should be stored. If
15416 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15418 @item nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15419 @vindex nnfolder-marks-is-evil
15420 If non-@code{nil}, this back end will ignore any @sc{marks} files. The
15421 default is @code{nil}.
15423 @item nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15424 @vindex nnfolder-marks-file-suffix
15425 The extension for @sc{marks} files. The default is @file{.mrk}.
15427 @item nnfolder-marks-directory
15428 @vindex nnfolder-marks-directory
15429 The directory where the @sc{marks} files should be stored. If
15430 @code{nil}, @code{nnfolder-directory} is used.
15435 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
15436 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
15437 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
15438 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
15439 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
15440 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
15443 @node Comparing Mail Back Ends
15444 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Back Ends
15446 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{back end} is the common word for a
15447 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
15448 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
15449 and so selection of a suitable back end is required in order to get that
15450 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
15452 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
15453 typically done by @acronym{NNTP} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
15454 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
15455 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @acronym{NNTP} server), and
15456 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
15457 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
15458 @code{nnspool} back ends, to select between these methods, if one happens
15459 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
15462 The goal in selecting a mail back end is to pick one which
15463 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
15464 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
15465 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
15470 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
15471 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
15472 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
15473 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
15474 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
15475 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
15476 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
15477 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
15478 this back end, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
15479 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
15480 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
15481 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
15482 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
15487 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
15488 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
15489 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
15490 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
15491 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
15492 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
15493 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
15494 Rmail was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
15495 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote Rmail
15496 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
15497 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
15498 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
15499 headers/status bits stuff. Rmail itself still exists as well, of
15500 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
15502 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
15503 file system, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
15508 @code{nnml} is the back end which smells the most as though you were
15509 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
15510 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
15511 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
15512 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
15513 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
15514 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
15515 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
15516 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
15517 @acronym{NNTP} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
15518 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
15519 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
15520 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
15521 provided by the active file and overviews.
15523 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
15524 resource which defines available places in the file system to put new
15525 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
15526 tight, shared file systems. But if you live on a personal machine where
15527 the file system is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
15530 It is also problematic using this back end if you are living in a
15531 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
15536 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
15537 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
15538 individual files, but with little or no indexing support---@code{nnmh}
15539 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
15540 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
15541 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
15542 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
15546 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
15547 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
15548 itself puts @emph{all} one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
15549 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
15550 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
15551 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
15552 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
15553 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
15554 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
15556 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
15557 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
15558 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
15559 friendly mail back end all over.
15563 For configuring expiry and other things, @code{nnmaildir} uses
15564 incompatible group parameters, slightly different from those of other
15567 @code{nnmaildir} is largely similar to @code{nnml}, with some notable
15568 differences. Each message is stored in a separate file, but the
15569 filename is unrelated to the article number in Gnus. @code{nnmaildir}
15570 also stores the equivalent of @code{nnml}'s overview files in one file
15571 per article, so it uses about twice as many inodes as @code{nnml}. (Use
15572 @code{df -i} to see how plentiful your inode supply is.) If this slows
15573 you down or takes up very much space, consider switching to
15574 @uref{http://www.namesys.com/, ReiserFS} or another non-block-structured
15577 Since maildirs don't require locking for delivery, the maildirs you use
15578 as groups can also be the maildirs your mail is directly delivered to.
15579 This means you can skip Gnus' mail splitting if your mail is already
15580 organized into different mailboxes during delivery. A @code{directory}
15581 entry in @code{mail-sources} would have a similar effect, but would
15582 require one set of mailboxes for spooling deliveries (in mbox format,
15583 thus damaging message bodies), and another set to be used as groups (in
15584 whatever format you like). A maildir has a built-in spool, in the
15585 @code{new/} subdirectory. Beware that currently, mail moved from
15586 @code{new/} to @code{cur/} instead of via mail splitting will not
15587 undergo treatment such as duplicate checking.
15589 @code{nnmaildir} stores article marks for a given group in the
15590 corresponding maildir, in a way designed so that it's easy to manipulate
15591 them from outside Gnus. You can tar up a maildir, unpack it somewhere
15592 else, and still have your marks. @code{nnml} also stores marks, but
15593 it's not as easy to work with them from outside Gnus as with
15596 @code{nnmaildir} uses a significant amount of memory to speed things up.
15597 (It keeps in memory some of the things that @code{nnml} stores in files
15598 and that @code{nnmh} repeatedly parses out of message files.) If this
15599 is a problem for you, you can set the @code{nov-cache-size} group
15600 parameter to something small (0 would probably not work, but 1 probably
15601 would) to make it use less memory. This caching will probably be
15602 removed in the future.
15604 Startup is likely to be slower with @code{nnmaildir} than with other
15605 back ends. Everything else is likely to be faster, depending in part
15606 on your file system.
15608 @code{nnmaildir} does not use @code{nnoo}, so you cannot use @code{nnoo}
15609 to write an @code{nnmaildir}-derived back end.
15614 @node Browsing the Web
15615 @section Browsing the Web
15617 @cindex browsing the web
15621 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
15622 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
15623 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
15624 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
15625 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
15626 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
15627 even know what a news group is.
15629 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
15630 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
15631 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
15632 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
15633 you mad in the end.
15635 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
15638 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of back ends for providing
15639 interfaces to these sources.
15643 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
15644 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
15645 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
15646 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
15647 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
15648 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
15651 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
15653 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
15654 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @acronym{HTML} data
15655 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus back end
15656 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these back ends,
15657 though, you should be ok.
15659 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
15660 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
15661 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
15662 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
15663 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
15665 @node Archiving Mail
15666 @subsection Archiving Mail
15667 @cindex archiving mail
15668 @cindex backup of mail
15670 Some of the back ends, notably @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, and
15671 @code{nnmaildir}, now actually store the article marks with each group.
15672 For these servers, archiving and restoring a group while preserving
15673 marks is fairly simple.
15675 (Preserving the group level and group parameters as well still
15676 requires ritual dancing and sacrifices to the @file{.newsrc.eld} deity
15679 To archive an entire @code{nnml}, @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir}
15680 server, take a recursive copy of the server directory. There is no need
15681 to shut down Gnus, so archiving may be invoked by @code{cron} or
15682 similar. You restore the data by restoring the directory tree, and
15683 adding a server definition pointing to that directory in Gnus. The
15684 @ref{Article Backlog}, @ref{Asynchronous Fetching} and other things
15685 might interfere with overwriting data, so you may want to shut down Gnus
15686 before you restore the data.
15688 It is also possible to archive individual @code{nnml},
15689 @code{nnfolder}, or @code{nnmaildir} groups, while preserving marks.
15690 For @code{nnml} or @code{nnmaildir}, you copy all files in the group's
15691 directory. For @code{nnfolder} you need to copy both the base folder
15692 file itself (@file{FOO}, say), and the marks file (@file{FOO.mrk} in
15693 this example). Restoring the group is done with @kbd{G m} from the Group
15694 buffer. The last step makes Gnus notice the new directory.
15695 @code{nnmaildir} notices the new directory automatically, so @kbd{G m}
15696 is unnecessary in that case.
15699 @subsection Web Searches
15704 @cindex Usenet searches
15705 @cindex searching the Usenet
15707 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
15708 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
15709 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
15710 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
15711 searches without having to use a browser.
15713 The @code{nnweb} back end allows an easy interface to the mighty search
15714 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
15715 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
15716 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
15717 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
15719 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
15720 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
15721 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
15722 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
15723 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
15724 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
15725 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
15726 engines (Google, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
15727 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
15728 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
15731 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
15732 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
15733 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'@^etre} is to
15734 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
15735 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
15736 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
15738 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
15739 to use @code{nnweb}.
15741 Virtual server variables:
15746 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
15747 are @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}. Note that
15748 @code{dejanews} is an alias to @code{google}.
15751 @vindex nnweb-search
15752 The search string to feed to the search engine.
15754 @item nnweb-max-hits
15755 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
15756 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
15759 @item nnweb-type-definition
15760 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
15761 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
15762 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
15767 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
15771 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
15774 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
15777 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
15781 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
15788 @subsection Slashdot
15792 @uref{http://slashdot.org/, Slashdot} is a popular news site, with
15793 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
15794 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
15796 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
15797 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
15800 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
15801 '((nnslashdot "")))
15804 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} back end for new comments
15805 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
15806 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
15807 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
15808 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
15811 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
15812 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
15814 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
15815 comments), some light @acronym{HTML}izations will be performed. In
15816 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
15817 @samp{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @samp{br} added to
15818 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @acronym{HTML}
15819 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
15820 @acronym{HTML} forms.
15822 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
15825 @item nnslashdot-threaded
15826 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
15827 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
15828 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
15829 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
15830 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
15831 but much, much slower than unthreaded.
15833 @item nnslashdot-login-name
15834 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
15835 The login name to use when posting.
15837 @item nnslashdot-password
15838 @vindex nnslashdot-password
15839 The password to use when posting.
15841 @item nnslashdot-directory
15842 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
15843 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default is
15844 @file{~/News/slashdot/}.
15846 @item nnslashdot-active-url
15847 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
15848 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the
15849 information on news articles and comments. The default is@*
15850 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
15852 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
15853 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
15854 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch comments.
15856 @item nnslashdot-article-url
15857 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
15858 The @acronym{URL} format string that will be used to fetch the news
15859 article. The default is
15860 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
15862 @item nnslashdot-threshold
15863 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
15864 The score threshold. The default is -1.
15866 @item nnslashdot-group-number
15867 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
15868 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
15869 updated. The default is 0.
15876 @subsection Ultimate
15878 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
15880 @uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/, The Ultimate Bulletin Board} is
15881 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
15882 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
15883 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15885 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
15886 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
15887 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @acronym{URL}
15888 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
15889 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
15890 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
15891 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
15893 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
15896 @item nnultimate-directory
15897 @vindex nnultimate-directory
15898 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is@*
15899 @file{~/News/ultimate/}.
15904 @subsection Web Archive
15906 @cindex Web Archive
15908 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
15909 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
15910 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
15911 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
15914 @findex gnus-group-make-warchive-group
15915 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
15916 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
15917 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET @var{an_egroup} RET egroups RET
15918 www.egroups.com RET @var{your@@email.address} RET}. (Substitute the
15919 @var{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
15920 @var{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
15921 back end by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
15923 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
15926 @item nnwarchive-directory
15927 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
15928 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is@*
15929 @file{~/News/warchive/}.
15931 @item nnwarchive-login
15932 @vindex nnwarchive-login
15933 The account name on the web server.
15935 @item nnwarchive-passwd
15936 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
15937 The password for your account on the web server.
15945 Some web sites have an RDF Site Summary (@acronym{RSS}).
15946 @acronym{RSS} is a format for summarizing headlines from news related
15947 sites (such as BBC or CNN). But basically anything list-like can be
15948 presented as an @acronym{RSS} feed: weblogs, changelogs or recent
15949 changes to a wiki (e.g. @url{http://cliki.net/recent-changes.rdf}).
15951 @acronym{RSS} has a quite regular and nice interface, and it's
15952 possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
15954 @kindex G R (Summary)
15955 Use @kbd{G R} from the summary buffer to subscribe to a feed---you
15956 will be prompted for the location of the feed.
15958 An easy way to get started with @code{nnrss} is to say something like
15959 the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnrss RET y}, then
15960 subscribe to groups.
15963 You can also use the following commands to import and export your
15964 subscriptions from a file in @acronym{OPML} format (Outline Processor
15967 @defun nnrss-opml-import file
15968 Prompt for an @acronym{OPML} file, and subscribe to each feed in the
15972 @defun nnrss-opml-export
15973 Write your current @acronym{RSS} subscriptions to a buffer in
15974 @acronym{OPML} format.
15977 The following @code{nnrss} variables can be altered:
15980 @item nnrss-directory
15981 @vindex nnrss-directory
15982 The directory where @code{nnrss} stores its files. The default is
15983 @file{~/News/rss/}.
15985 @item nnrss-use-local
15986 @vindex nnrss-use-local
15987 @findex nnrss-generate-download-script
15988 If you set @code{nnrss-use-local} to @code{t}, @code{nnrss} will read
15989 the feeds from local files in @code{nnrss-directory}. You can use
15990 the command @code{nnrss-generate-download-script} to generate a
15991 download script using @command{wget}.
15994 The following code may be helpful, if you want to show the description in
15995 the summary buffer.
15998 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-description-field)
15999 (setq gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-15,15f%]%) %s%uX\n")
16001 (defun gnus-user-format-function-X (header)
16003 (assq nnrss-description-field (mail-header-extra header))))
16004 (if descr (concat "\n\t" (cdr descr)) "")))
16007 The following code may be useful to open an nnrss url directly from the
16010 (require 'browse-url)
16012 (defun browse-nnrss-url( arg )
16014 (let ((url (assq nnrss-url-field
16017 (assq (gnus-summary-article-number)
16018 gnus-newsgroup-data))))))
16021 (browse-url (cdr url))
16022 (gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward 1))
16023 (gnus-summary-scroll-up arg))))
16025 (eval-after-load "gnus"
16026 #'(define-key gnus-summary-mode-map
16027 (kbd "<RET>") 'browse-nnrss-url))
16028 (add-to-list 'nnmail-extra-headers nnrss-url-field)
16031 @node Customizing w3
16032 @subsection Customizing w3
16038 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
16039 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
16040 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
16042 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
16043 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
16044 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
16047 (eval-after-load "w3"
16049 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
16050 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
16051 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
16052 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
16054 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
16057 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
16058 @acronym{HTML} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
16065 @cindex @acronym{IMAP}
16067 @acronym{IMAP} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or @dots{}),
16068 think of it as a modernized @acronym{NNTP}. Connecting to a @acronym{IMAP}
16069 server is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just
16070 specify the network address of the server.
16072 @acronym{IMAP} has two properties. First, @acronym{IMAP} can do
16073 everything that @acronym{POP} can, it can hence be viewed as a
16074 @acronym{POP++}. Secondly, @acronym{IMAP} is a mail storage protocol,
16075 similar to @acronym{NNTP} being a news storage protocol---however,
16076 @acronym{IMAP} offers more features than @acronym{NNTP} because news
16077 is more or less read-only whereas mail is read-write.
16079 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a @acronym{POP++}, use an imap
16080 entry in @code{mail-sources}. With this, Gnus will fetch mails from
16081 the @acronym{IMAP} server and store them on the local disk. This is
16082 not the usage described in this section---@xref{Mail Sources}.
16084 If you want to use @acronym{IMAP} as a mail storage protocol, use an nnimap
16085 entry in @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods}. With this, Gnus will
16086 manipulate mails stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server. This is the kind of
16087 usage explained in this section.
16089 A server configuration in @file{~/.gnus.el} with a few @acronym{IMAP}
16090 servers might look something like the following. (Note that for
16091 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}, you need external programs and libraries,
16095 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
16096 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; @r{no special configuration}
16097 ; @r{perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:}
16099 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16100 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
16101 ; @r{a UW server running on localhost}
16103 (nnimap-server-port 143)
16104 (nnimap-address "localhost")
16105 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
16106 ; @r{anonymous public cyrus server:}
16107 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
16108 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
16109 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
16110 (nnimap-stream network))
16111 ; @r{a ssl server on a non-standard port:}
16113 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
16114 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
16115 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
16118 After defining the new server, you can subscribe to groups on the
16119 server using normal Gnus commands such as @kbd{U} in the Group Buffer
16120 (@pxref{Subscription Commands}) or via the Server Buffer
16121 (@pxref{Server Buffer}).
16123 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
16128 @item nnimap-address
16129 @vindex nnimap-address
16131 The address of the remote @acronym{IMAP} server. Defaults to the virtual
16132 server name if not specified.
16134 @item nnimap-server-port
16135 @vindex nnimap-server-port
16136 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}.
16138 Note that this should be an integer, example server specification:
16141 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16142 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
16145 @item nnimap-list-pattern
16146 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
16147 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
16148 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
16149 interested in a few---some servers export your home directory via
16150 @acronym{IMAP}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
16151 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
16153 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
16154 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
16155 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
16158 Example server specification:
16161 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16162 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
16163 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
16166 @item nnimap-stream
16167 @vindex nnimap-stream
16168 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
16169 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
16170 of @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}. (@acronym{IMAP} over
16171 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can
16172 be automatically detected, but it's not widely deployed yet.)
16174 Example server specification:
16177 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16178 (nnimap-stream ssl))
16181 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
16185 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually Kerberos 5). Requires the
16186 @samp{gsasl} or @samp{imtest} program.
16188 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with Kerberos 4. Requires the @samp{imtest} program.
16190 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
16191 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL}). Requires the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
16194 @dfn{tls:} Connect through @acronym{TLS}. Requires GNUTLS (the program
16195 @samp{gnutls-cli}).
16197 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through @acronym{SSL}. Requires OpenSSL (the program
16198 @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
16200 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start @acronym{IMAP} connection.
16202 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
16205 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
16206 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD. If you're
16207 using @samp{imtest} from Cyrus IMAPD < 2.0.14 (which includes version
16208 1.5.x and 1.6.x) you need to frob @code{imap-process-connection-type}
16209 to make @code{imap.el} use a pty instead of a pipe when communicating
16210 with @samp{imtest}. You will then suffer from a line length
16211 restrictions on @acronym{IMAP} commands, which might make Gnus seem to hang
16212 indefinitely if you have many articles in a mailbox. The variable
16213 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
16216 For @acronym{TLS} connection, the @code{gnutls-cli} program from GNUTLS is
16217 needed. It is available from
16218 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gnutls/}.
16220 @vindex imap-gssapi-program
16221 This parameter specifies a list of command lines that invoke a GSSAPI
16222 authenticated @acronym{IMAP} stream in a subshell. They are tried
16223 sequentially until a connection is made, or the list has been
16224 exhausted. By default, @samp{gsasl} from GNU SASL, available from
16225 @uref{http://www.gnu.org/software/gsasl/}, and the @samp{imtest}
16226 program from Cyrus IMAPD (see @code{imap-kerberos4-program}), are
16229 @vindex imap-ssl-program
16230 For @acronym{SSL} connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
16231 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
16232 and nnimap support it too---although the most recent versions of
16233 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
16234 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
16235 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
16238 @vindex imap-shell-program
16239 @vindex imap-shell-host
16240 For @acronym{IMAP} connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
16241 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
16243 @item nnimap-authenticator
16244 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
16246 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
16247 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
16249 Example server specification:
16252 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
16253 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
16256 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
16260 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Requires
16261 external program @code{gsasl} or @code{imtest}.
16263 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos 4 authentication. Requires external program
16266 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Requires
16267 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
16269 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
16271 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
16273 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as ``anonymous'', supplying your email address as password.
16276 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
16278 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
16279 Unlike Parmenides the @acronym{IMAP} designers have decided things that
16280 don't exist actually do exist. More specifically, @acronym{IMAP} has
16281 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
16282 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
16283 nnimap does when you delete an article in Gnus (with @kbd{B DEL} or
16286 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
16287 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
16288 running in circles yet?
16290 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
16291 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
16294 The possible options are:
16299 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as ``Deleted'' when
16302 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
16303 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @acronym{IMAP} clients
16304 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
16305 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
16307 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
16312 @item nnimap-importantize-dormant
16313 @vindex nnimap-importantize-dormant
16315 If non-@code{nil} (the default), marks dormant articles as ticked (as
16316 well), for other @acronym{IMAP} clients. Within Gnus, dormant articles will
16317 naturally still (only) be marked as dormant. This is to make dormant
16318 articles stand out, just like ticked articles, in other @acronym{IMAP}
16319 clients. (In other words, Gnus has two ``Tick'' marks and @acronym{IMAP}
16322 Probably the only reason for frobing this would be if you're trying
16323 enable per-user persistent dormant flags, using something like:
16326 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-flag-alist)
16327 (format "gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16328 (setcdr (assq 'dormant nnimap-mark-to-predicate-alist)
16329 (format "KEYWORD gnus-dormant-%s" (user-login-name)))
16332 In this case, you would not want the per-user dormant flag showing up
16333 as ticked for other users.
16335 @item nnimap-expunge-search-string
16337 @vindex nnimap-expunge-search-string
16339 This variable contain the @acronym{IMAP} search command sent to server when
16340 searching for articles eligible for expiring. The default is
16341 @code{"UID %s NOT SINCE %s"}, where the first @code{%s} is replaced by
16342 UID set and the second @code{%s} is replaced by a date.
16344 Probably the only useful value to change this to is
16345 @code{"UID %s NOT SENTSINCE %s"}, which makes nnimap use the Date: in
16346 messages instead of the internal article date. See section 6.4.4 of
16347 RFC 2060 for more information on valid strings.
16349 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
16350 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
16352 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
16353 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
16354 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
16357 @item nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16358 @vindex nnimap-need-unselect-to-notice-new-mail
16360 Unselect mailboxes before looking for new mail in them. Some servers
16361 seem to need this under some circumstances; it was reported that
16367 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
16368 * Expiring in IMAP:: Expiring mail with nnimap.
16369 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
16370 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a ``compress mailbox'' button.
16371 * A note on namespaces:: How to (not) use @acronym{IMAP} namespace in Gnus.
16372 * Debugging IMAP:: What to do when things don't work.
16377 @node Splitting in IMAP
16378 @subsection Splitting in IMAP
16379 @cindex splitting imap mail
16381 Splitting is something Gnus users have loved and used for years, and now
16382 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
16383 @acronym{IMAP} servers have server side splitting and those that have
16384 splitting seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that
16385 @acronym{IMAP} support for Gnus has to do its own splitting.
16389 (Incidentally, people seem to have been dreaming on, and Sieve has
16390 gaining a market share and is supported by several IMAP servers.
16391 Fortunately, Gnus support it too, @xref{Sieve Commands}.)
16393 Here are the variables of interest:
16397 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
16398 @cindex splitting, crosspost
16400 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
16402 If non-@code{nil}, do crossposting if several split methods match the
16403 mail. If @code{nil}, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule}
16404 found will be used.
16406 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
16408 @item nnimap-split-inbox
16409 @cindex splitting, inbox
16411 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
16413 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @acronym{IMAP}
16414 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to @code{nil}, which means that
16415 splitting is disabled!
16418 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
16419 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
16422 No nnmail equivalent.
16424 @item nnimap-split-rule
16425 @cindex splitting, rules
16426 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
16428 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
16431 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
16432 sublist gives the name of the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox to move articles
16433 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
16434 Neither did I, we need examples.
16437 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16439 "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
16440 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
16441 ("INBOX.private" "")))
16444 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
16445 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
16446 into INBOX.junk and everything else in INBOX.private.
16448 The first string may contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by
16449 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
16453 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
16456 The first element can also be the symbol @code{junk} to indicate that
16457 matching messages should simply be deleted. Use with care.
16459 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
16460 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
16461 containing the headers of the article. It should return a
16462 non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
16464 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
16465 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
16466 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
16467 of your inbox. (This might affect performance if you keep lots of
16468 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
16469 them every time you fetch new mail.)
16471 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
16472 end. The first rule to make a match will ``win'', unless you have
16473 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will ``win''.
16475 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
16476 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
16477 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16479 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it needs to.
16481 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
16482 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
16483 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
16486 (setq nnimap-split-rule
16487 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
16488 ("junk" "From:.*Simon"))))
16489 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
16490 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
16491 ("junk" my-junk-func))))))
16494 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
16495 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
16496 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
16497 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
16498 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
16499 group/function elements.
16501 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16503 @item nnimap-split-predicate
16505 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
16507 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
16508 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
16510 This might be useful if you use another @acronym{IMAP} client to read mail in
16511 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
16512 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
16515 @item nnimap-split-fancy
16516 @cindex splitting, fancy
16517 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
16518 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
16520 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16521 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
16522 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
16524 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
16525 nnimap back ends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
16526 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
16527 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
16532 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
16533 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
16536 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
16538 @item nnimap-split-download-body
16539 @findex nnimap-split-download-body
16540 @vindex nnimap-split-download-body
16542 Set to non-@code{nil} to download entire articles during splitting.
16543 This is generally not required, and will slow things down
16544 considerably. You may need it if you want to use an advanced
16545 splitting function that analyses the body to split the article.
16549 @node Expiring in IMAP
16550 @subsection Expiring in IMAP
16551 @cindex expiring imap mail
16553 Even though @code{nnimap} is not a proper @code{nnmail} derived back
16554 end, it supports most features in regular expiring (@pxref{Expiring
16555 Mail}). Unlike splitting in @acronym{IMAP} (@pxref{Splitting in
16556 IMAP}) it does not clone the @code{nnmail} variables (i.e., creating
16557 @var{nnimap-expiry-wait}) but reuse the @code{nnmail} variables. What
16558 follows below are the variables used by the @code{nnimap} expiry
16561 A note on how the expire mark is stored on the @acronym{IMAP} server is
16562 appropriate here as well. The expire mark is translated into a
16563 @code{imap} client specific mark, @code{gnus-expire}, and stored on the
16564 message. This means that likely only Gnus will understand and treat
16565 the @code{gnus-expire} mark properly, although other clients may allow
16566 you to view client specific flags on the message. It also means that
16567 your server must support permanent storage of client specific flags on
16568 messages. Most do, fortunately.
16572 @item nnmail-expiry-wait
16573 @item nnmail-expiry-wait-function
16575 These variables are fully supported. The expire value can be a
16576 number, the symbol @code{immediate} or @code{never}.
16578 @item nnmail-expiry-target
16580 This variable is supported, and internally implemented by calling the
16581 @code{nnmail} functions that handle this. It contains an optimization
16582 that if the destination is a @acronym{IMAP} group on the same server, the
16583 article is copied instead of appended (that is, uploaded again).
16587 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
16588 @subsection Editing IMAP ACLs
16589 @cindex editing imap acls
16590 @cindex Access Control Lists
16591 @cindex Editing @acronym{IMAP} ACLs
16592 @kindex G l (Group)
16593 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
16595 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @acronym{IMAP} for
16596 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
16597 @acronym{IMAP} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
16600 To edit an ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
16601 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with an ACL
16602 editing window with detailed instructions.
16604 Some possible uses:
16608 Giving ``anyone'' the ``lrs'' rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
16609 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
16610 follow the list without subscribing to it.
16612 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
16613 ``anyone'' posting ("p") capabilities to have ``plussing'' work (that is,
16614 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @acronym{IMAP} mailbox
16618 @node Expunging mailboxes
16619 @subsection Expunging mailboxes
16623 @cindex manual expunging
16624 @kindex G x (Group)
16625 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
16627 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-on-close},
16628 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
16629 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
16631 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
16634 @node A note on namespaces
16635 @subsection A note on namespaces
16636 @cindex IMAP namespace
16639 The @acronym{IMAP} protocol has a concept called namespaces, described
16640 by the following text in the RFC:
16643 5.1.2. Mailbox Namespace Naming Convention
16645 By convention, the first hierarchical element of any mailbox name
16646 which begins with "#" identifies the "namespace" of the remainder of
16647 the name. This makes it possible to disambiguate between different
16648 types of mailbox stores, each of which have their own namespaces.
16650 For example, implementations which offer access to USENET
16651 newsgroups MAY use the "#news" namespace to partition the USENET
16652 newsgroup namespace from that of other mailboxes. Thus, the
16653 comp.mail.misc newsgroup would have an mailbox name of
16654 "#news.comp.mail.misc", and the name "comp.mail.misc" could refer
16655 to a different object (e.g. a user's private mailbox).
16658 While there is nothing in this text that warrants concern for the
16659 @acronym{IMAP} implementation in Gnus, some servers use namespace
16660 prefixes in a way that does not work with how Gnus uses mailbox names.
16662 Specifically, University of Washington's @acronym{IMAP} server uses
16663 mailbox names like @code{#driver.mbx/read-mail} which are valid only
16664 in the @sc{create} and @sc{append} commands. After the mailbox is
16665 created (or a messages is appended to a mailbox), it must be accessed
16666 without the namespace prefix, i.e. @code{read-mail}. Since Gnus do
16667 not make it possible for the user to guarantee that user entered
16668 mailbox names will only be used with the CREATE and APPEND commands,
16669 you should simply not use the namespace prefixed mailbox names in
16672 See the UoW IMAPD documentation for the @code{#driver.*/} prefix
16673 for more information on how to use the prefixes. They are a power
16674 tool and should be used only if you are sure what the effects are.
16676 @node Debugging IMAP
16677 @subsection Debugging IMAP
16678 @cindex IMAP debugging
16679 @cindex protocol dump (IMAP)
16681 @acronym{IMAP} is a complex protocol, more so than @acronym{NNTP} or
16682 @acronym{POP3}. Implementation bugs are not unlikely, and we do our
16683 best to fix them right away. If you encounter odd behaviour, chances
16684 are that either the server or Gnus is buggy.
16686 If you are familiar with network protocols in general, you will
16687 probably be able to extract some clues from the protocol dump of the
16688 exchanges between Gnus and the server. Even if you are not familiar
16689 with network protocols, when you include the protocol dump in
16690 @acronym{IMAP}-related bug reports you are helping us with data
16691 critical to solving the problem. Therefore, we strongly encourage you
16692 to include the protocol dump when reporting IMAP bugs in Gnus.
16696 Because the protocol dump, when enabled, generates lots of data, it is
16697 disabled by default. You can enable it by setting @code{imap-log} as
16704 This instructs the @code{imap.el} package to log any exchanges with
16705 the server. The log is stored in the buffer @samp{*imap-log*}. Look
16706 for error messages, which sometimes are tagged with the keyword
16707 @code{BAD}---but when submitting a bug, make sure to include all the
16710 @node Other Sources
16711 @section Other Sources
16713 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
16714 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
16718 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
16719 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
16720 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
16721 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
16722 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
16726 @node Directory Groups
16727 @subsection Directory Groups
16729 @cindex directory groups
16731 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
16732 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
16735 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
16736 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
16737 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
16738 back end to read directories. Big deal.
16740 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
16741 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
16742 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
16743 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
16744 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
16746 @code{nndir} will use @acronym{NOV} files if they are present.
16748 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' back end---you can't delete or expire
16749 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
16750 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
16751 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
16754 @node Anything Groups
16755 @subsection Anything Groups
16758 From the @code{nndir} back end (which reads a single spool-like
16759 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
16760 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
16763 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
16764 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
16765 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
16766 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
16767 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
16768 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
16769 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
16770 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
16771 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
16772 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
16775 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
16776 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
16777 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
16778 in the article buffer, just as usual.
16780 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
16781 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
16782 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
16783 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
16785 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
16786 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
16787 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
16788 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
16789 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
16790 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
16791 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
16792 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
16797 @item nneething-map-file-directory
16798 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
16799 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
16800 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
16802 @item nneething-exclude-files
16803 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
16804 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
16805 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
16807 @item nneething-include-files
16808 @vindex nneething-include-files
16809 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
16810 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
16812 @item nneething-map-file
16813 @vindex nneething-map-file
16814 Name of the map files.
16818 @node Document Groups
16819 @subsection Document Groups
16821 @cindex documentation group
16824 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
16825 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
16832 The Babyl (Rmail) mail box.
16837 The standard Unix mbox file.
16839 @cindex MMDF mail box
16841 The MMDF mail box format.
16844 Several news articles appended into a file.
16847 @cindex rnews batch files
16848 The rnews batch transport format.
16849 @cindex forwarded messages
16852 Forwarded articles.
16855 Netscape mail boxes.
16858 @acronym{MIME} multipart messages.
16860 @item standard-digest
16861 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
16864 A @acronym{MIME} digest of messages.
16866 @item lanl-gov-announce
16867 Announcement messages from LANL Gov Announce.
16869 @item rfc822-forward
16870 A message forwarded according to RFC822.
16873 The Outlook mail box.
16876 The Outlook Express dbx mail box.
16879 A bounce message from the Exim MTA.
16882 A message forwarded according to informal rules.
16885 An RFC934-forwarded message.
16891 A digest of Clarinet brief news items.
16894 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
16900 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
16901 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
16902 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
16905 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
16906 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
16907 group. And that's it.
16909 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
16910 new & spiffy Gnus mail back end, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
16911 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
16912 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
16913 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
16914 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
16915 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
16916 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
16917 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
16918 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
16920 Virtual server variables:
16923 @item nndoc-article-type
16924 @vindex nndoc-article-type
16925 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
16926 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
16927 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
16928 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook},
16929 @code{oe-dbx}, @code{mailman}, and @code{mail-in-mail} or @code{guess}.
16931 @item nndoc-post-type
16932 @vindex nndoc-post-type
16933 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
16934 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
16939 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
16943 @node Document Server Internals
16944 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
16946 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
16947 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
16948 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
16949 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
16951 First, here's an example document type definition:
16955 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
16956 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
16959 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
16960 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
16961 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
16962 types can be defined with very few settings:
16965 @item first-article
16966 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
16967 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
16970 @item article-begin
16971 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
16972 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
16974 @item head-begin-function
16975 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
16978 @item nndoc-head-begin
16979 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
16982 @item nndoc-head-end
16983 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
16984 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
16986 @item body-begin-function
16987 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
16991 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
16994 @item body-end-function
16995 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
16999 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
17002 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
17003 regexp will be totally ignored.
17007 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
17008 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
17009 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
17010 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
17011 something that's palatable for Gnus:
17014 @item prepare-body-function
17015 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
17016 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
17017 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
17019 @item article-transform-function
17020 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
17021 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
17022 body of the article.
17024 @item generate-head-function
17025 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
17026 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
17027 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
17028 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
17032 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
17037 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17038 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
17039 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
17040 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
17041 (head-end . "^ ?$")
17042 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
17043 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
17044 (subtype digest guess))
17047 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
17048 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
17049 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
17050 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
17051 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
17053 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
17054 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first
17055 is the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says
17056 where in the document type definition alist to put this definition.
17057 The alist is traversed sequentially, and
17058 @code{nndoc-@var{type}-type-p} is called for a given type @var{type}.
17059 So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document is of
17060 @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
17061 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it
17062 is of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
17063 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number
17064 means low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
17072 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
17073 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
17074 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
17076 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
17077 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
17078 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
17081 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
17082 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
17083 that interested in doing things properly.
17085 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
17086 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
17089 First some terminology:
17094 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
17095 get news and/or mail from.
17098 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
17099 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
17102 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
17106 @item message packets
17107 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
17108 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
17109 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17111 @item response packets
17112 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
17113 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
17114 default, where @var{x} is a number.
17124 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
17125 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
17126 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
17127 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
17130 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
17133 You put the packet in your home directory.
17136 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} back end as
17137 the native or secondary server.
17140 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
17141 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
17144 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
17148 You transfer this packet to the server.
17151 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
17154 You then repeat until you die.
17158 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
17159 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
17162 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
17163 * SOUP Groups:: A back end for reading @sc{soup} packets.
17164 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
17168 @node SOUP Commands
17169 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
17171 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
17175 @kindex G s b (Group)
17176 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
17177 Pack all unread articles in the current group
17178 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
17179 process/prefix convention.
17182 @kindex G s w (Group)
17183 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
17184 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
17187 @kindex G s s (Group)
17188 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
17189 Send all replies from the replies packet
17190 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
17193 @kindex G s p (Group)
17194 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
17195 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
17198 @kindex G s r (Group)
17199 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
17200 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
17203 @kindex O s (Summary)
17204 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
17205 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
17206 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
17207 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
17212 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
17217 @item gnus-soup-directory
17218 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
17219 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
17220 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
17222 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
17223 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
17224 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
17225 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
17227 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
17228 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
17229 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
17230 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
17232 @item gnus-soup-packer
17233 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
17234 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17235 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
17237 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
17238 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
17239 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
17240 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17242 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
17243 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
17244 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
17246 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17247 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
17248 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
17249 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
17255 @subsubsection SOUP Groups
17258 @code{nnsoup} is the back end for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
17259 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
17260 you can read them at leisure.
17262 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
17266 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
17267 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
17268 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
17269 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
17271 @item nnsoup-directory
17272 @vindex nnsoup-directory
17273 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
17274 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
17276 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
17277 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
17278 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
17279 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/}.
17281 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
17282 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
17283 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
17284 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
17285 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
17287 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
17288 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
17289 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
17290 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
17292 @item nnsoup-active-file
17293 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
17294 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
17295 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
17296 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
17297 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
17299 @item nnsoup-packer
17300 @vindex nnsoup-packer
17301 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
17302 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
17304 @item nnsoup-unpacker
17305 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
17306 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
17307 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
17309 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
17310 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
17311 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
17314 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
17315 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
17316 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
17319 @item nnsoup-always-save
17320 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
17321 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
17327 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
17329 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
17330 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
17331 more for that to happen.
17333 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
17334 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
17335 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
17338 In specific, this is what it does:
17341 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
17342 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
17345 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
17346 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
17347 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
17350 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
17351 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
17352 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
17355 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
17356 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
17357 The @code{nngateway} back end provides the interface.
17359 Note that you can't read anything from this back end---it can only be
17365 @item nngateway-address
17366 @vindex nngateway-address
17367 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
17369 @item nngateway-header-transformation
17370 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
17371 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
17372 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
17373 transformation should be called, and defaults to
17374 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
17375 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
17378 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
17379 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
17380 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
17383 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
17386 will get this @code{To} header inserted:
17389 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
17392 The following pre-defined functions exist:
17394 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17397 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
17398 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17399 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
17401 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17403 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
17404 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
17405 @code{nngateway-address}.
17413 (setq gnus-post-method
17415 "mail2news@@replay.com"
17416 (nngateway-header-transformation
17417 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
17420 So, to use this, simply say something like:
17423 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
17428 @node Combined Groups
17429 @section Combined Groups
17431 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
17435 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
17436 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
17440 @node Virtual Groups
17441 @subsection Virtual Groups
17443 @cindex virtual groups
17444 @cindex merging groups
17446 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
17449 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
17450 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
17451 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
17453 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
17454 regexp to match component groups.
17456 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
17457 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
17458 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it
17459 came. (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be
17460 shown in the virtual group.). To create an empty virtual group, run
17461 @kbd{G V} (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}) in the group buffer
17462 and edit the method regexp with @kbd{M-e}
17463 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method})
17465 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
17466 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
17469 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
17472 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
17473 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
17475 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
17476 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
17477 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
17478 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
17481 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
17484 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
17485 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
17486 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
17488 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
17489 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
17490 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
17491 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
17492 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
17494 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
17495 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
17496 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
17498 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
17499 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
17500 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
17501 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
17502 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
17503 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
17504 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
17505 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
17506 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
17507 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
17508 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
17510 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
17511 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
17512 has to ask the back end of the component group the article comes from
17513 whether it is a news or mail back end. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
17514 there is typically no sure way for the component back end to know this,
17515 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
17516 not-news back end. (Just to be on the safe side.)
17518 @kbd{C-c C-n} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
17519 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
17521 @code{nnvirtual} groups do not inherit anything but articles and marks
17522 from component groups---group parameters, for instance, are not
17526 @node Kibozed Groups
17527 @subsection Kibozed Groups
17531 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by the @acronym{OED} as ``grepping through
17532 (parts of) the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a back end that will
17533 do this for you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @acronym{NNTP} server
17534 down to a halt with useless requests! Oh happiness!
17536 @kindex G k (Group)
17537 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
17540 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
17541 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
17542 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between
17543 @code{nnkiboze} and @code{nnvirtual} end.
17545 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an
17546 @code{nnkiboze} group must have a score file to say what articles are
17547 to be included in the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
17549 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
17550 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
17551 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
17552 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time.
17553 Lots of time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the
17554 headers from all the articles in all the component groups and run them
17555 through the scoring process to determine if there are any articles in
17556 the groups that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
17558 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
17559 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
17560 @acronym{NNTP} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
17561 Stranger things have happened.
17563 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
17564 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
17566 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
17567 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
17568 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/kiboze/} by default.
17569 One contains the @acronym{NOV} header lines for all the articles in
17570 the group, and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store
17571 information on what groups have been searched through to find
17572 component articles.
17574 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
17575 their @acronym{NOV} lines removed from the @acronym{NOV} file.
17578 @node Gnus Unplugged
17579 @section Gnus Unplugged
17584 @cindex Gnus unplugged
17586 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
17587 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
17588 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
17589 read news. Believe it or not.
17591 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
17592 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
17593 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
17594 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
17595 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
17597 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
17598 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
17599 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
17600 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
17601 reading news on a machine.
17603 Setting up Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple. In
17604 fact, you don't have to configure anything as the agent is now enabled
17605 by default (@pxref{Agent Variables, gnus-agent}).
17607 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
17610 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
17611 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
17612 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
17613 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
17614 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
17615 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
17616 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
17617 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
17618 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
17619 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
17620 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
17621 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
17622 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
17627 @subsection Agent Basics
17629 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
17631 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
17632 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
17633 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
17634 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
17636 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
17637 connected to the net continuously.
17639 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
17640 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
17642 You know that Gnus gives you all the opportunity you'd ever want for
17643 shooting yourself in the foot. Some people call it flexibility. Gnus
17644 is also customizable to a great extent, which means that the user has a
17645 say on how Gnus behaves. Other newsreaders might unconditionally shoot
17646 you in your foot, but with Gnus, you have a choice!
17648 Gnus is never really in plugged or unplugged state. Rather, it applies
17649 that state to each server individually. This means that some servers
17650 can be plugged while others can be unplugged. Additionally, some
17651 servers can be ignored by the Agent altogether (which means that
17652 they're kinda like plugged always).
17654 So when you unplug the Agent and then wonder why is Gnus opening a
17655 connection to the Net, the next step to do is to look whether all
17656 servers are agentized. If there is an unagentized server, you found
17659 Another thing is the @dfn{offline} state. Sometimes, servers aren't
17660 reachable. When Gnus notices this, it asks you whether you want the
17661 server to be switched to offline state. If you say yes, then the
17662 server will behave somewhat as if it was unplugged, except that Gnus
17663 will ask you whether you want to switch it back online again.
17665 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
17670 @findex gnus-unplugged
17671 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
17672 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
17673 already fetched while in this mode.
17676 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
17677 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
17678 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
17679 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode (@pxref{Mail
17680 Source Specifiers}).
17683 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the
17684 news onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press
17685 @kbd{g} to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J s} to fetch
17686 all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus know which
17687 articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}).
17690 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
17691 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
17692 then you read the news offline.
17695 And then you go to step 2.
17698 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
17704 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
17705 back end, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
17706 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
17707 @kbd{J a} on the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
17708 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}), or @kbd{J r} on automatically
17709 added servers you do not wish to have covered by the Agent. By default,
17710 all @code{nntp} and @code{nnimap} servers in @code{gnus-select-method} and
17711 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} are agentized.
17714 Decide on download policy. It's fairly simple once you decide whether
17715 you are going to use agent categories, topic parameters, and/or group
17716 parameters to implement your policy. If you're new to gnus, it
17717 is probably best to start with a category, @xref{Agent Categories}.
17719 Both topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) and agent categories
17720 (@pxref{Agent Categories}) provide for setting a policy that applies
17721 to multiple groups. Which you use is entirely up to you. Topic
17722 parameters do override categories so, if you mix the two, you'll have
17723 to take that into account. If you have a few groups that deviate from
17724 your policy, you can use group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to
17728 Uhm@dots{} that's it.
17732 @node Agent Categories
17733 @subsection Agent Categories
17735 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
17736 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
17737 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
17738 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
17739 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
17740 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
17741 you're interested in the articles anyway.
17743 One of the more effective methods for controlling what is to be
17744 downloaded is to create a @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all)
17745 groups to this category. Groups that do not belong in any other
17746 category belong to the @code{default} category. Gnus has its own
17747 buffer for creating and managing categories.
17749 If you prefer, you can also use group parameters (@pxref{Group
17750 Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}) for an
17751 alternative approach to controlling the agent. The only real
17752 difference is that categories are specific to the agent (so there is
17753 less to learn) while group and topic parameters include the kitchen
17756 Since you can set agent parameters in several different places we have
17757 a rule to decide which source to believe. This rule specifies that
17758 the parameter sources are checked in the following order: group
17759 parameters, topic parameters, agent category, and finally customizable
17760 variables. So you can mix all of these sources to produce a wide range
17761 of behavior, just don't blame me if you don't remember where you put
17765 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
17766 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
17767 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
17771 @node Category Syntax
17772 @subsubsection Category Syntax
17774 A category consists of a name, the list of groups belonging to the
17775 category, and a number of optional parameters that override the
17776 customizable variables. The complete list of agent parameters are
17779 @cindex Agent Parameters
17781 @item agent-cat-name
17782 The name of the category.
17785 The list of groups that are in this category.
17787 @item agent-predicate
17788 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
17789 are eligible for downloading; and
17791 @item agent-score-file
17792 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
17793 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
17794 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
17796 @item agent-enable-expiration
17797 a boolean indicating whether the agent should expire old articles in
17798 this group. Most groups should be expired to conserve disk space. In
17799 fact, its probably safe to say that the gnus.* hierarchy contains the
17800 only groups that should not be expired.
17802 @item agent-days-until-old
17803 an integer indicating the number of days that the agent should wait
17804 before deciding that a read article is safe to expire.
17806 @item agent-low-score
17807 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-low-score}.
17809 @item agent-high-score
17810 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-high-score}.
17812 @item agent-length-when-short
17813 an integer that overrides the value of
17814 @code{gnus-agent-short-article}.
17816 @item agent-length-when-long
17817 an integer that overrides the value of @code{gnus-agent-long-article}.
17819 @item agent-enable-undownloaded-faces
17820 a symbol indicating whether the summary buffer should display
17821 undownloaded articles using the @code{gnus-summary-*-undownloaded-face}
17822 faces. Any symbol other than @code{nil} will enable the use of
17823 undownloaded faces.
17826 The name of a category can not be changed once the category has been
17829 Each category maintains a list of groups that are exclusive members of
17830 that category. The exclusivity rule is automatically enforced, add a
17831 group to a new category and it is automatically removed from its old
17834 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
17835 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
17836 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
17837 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
17839 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
17840 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
17841 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
17843 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
17844 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
17845 operators sprinkled in between.
17847 Perhaps some examples are in order.
17849 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
17850 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
17856 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
17857 short (for some value of ``short'').
17859 Here's a more complex predicate:
17868 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
17869 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
17872 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
17873 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
17874 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
17876 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
17877 you want to do, you can write your own.
17879 When evaluating each of these predicates, the named constant will be
17880 bound to the value determined by calling
17881 @code{gnus-agent-find-parameter} on the appropriate parameter. For
17882 example, gnus-agent-short-article will be bound to
17883 @code{(gnus-agent-find-parameter group 'agent-short-article)}. This
17884 means that you can specify a predicate in your category then tune that
17885 predicate to individual groups.
17889 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
17890 lines; default 100.
17893 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
17894 lines; default 200.
17897 True iff the article has a download score less than
17898 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
17901 True iff the article has a download score greater than
17902 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
17905 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
17906 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
17907 checksum and sees whether articles match.
17916 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
17917 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
17918 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
17921 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
17922 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
17923 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
17924 something along the lines of the following:
17927 (defun my-article-old-p ()
17928 "Say whether an article is old."
17929 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
17930 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
17933 with the predicate then defined as:
17936 (not my-article-old-p)
17939 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
17940 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
17944 (require 'gnus-agent)
17945 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
17946 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
17947 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
17950 and simply specify your predicate as:
17956 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
17957 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
17958 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
17959 just don't give a damn.
17961 The above predicates apply to @emph{all} the groups which belong to the
17962 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
17963 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
17964 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in its group
17965 parameters like so:
17968 (agent-predicate . short)
17971 This is the group/topic parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
17972 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
17973 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
17975 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
17978 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
17981 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
17982 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
17983 predicate is assumed to be a list.
17986 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
17987 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
17988 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
17989 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
17990 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
17991 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
17993 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
17994 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
17995 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
17996 if it's to be specific to that group.
17998 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
18005 This has the same syntax as a normal Gnus score file except only a
18006 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
18012 Category specification
18016 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18022 Group/Topic Parameter specification
18025 (agent-score ("from"
18026 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
18031 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
18037 These score files must @emph{only} contain the permitted scoring
18038 keywords stated above.
18044 Category specification
18047 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
18053 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
18057 Group Parameter specification
18060 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
18063 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
18068 Use @code{normal} score files
18070 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
18071 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
18072 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
18073 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
18075 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
18076 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
18077 files for a group, @emph{filtering out} those sections that do not
18078 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
18082 Category Specification
18089 Group Parameter specification
18092 (agent-score . file)
18097 @node Category Buffer
18098 @subsubsection Category Buffer
18100 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
18101 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
18102 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
18104 The following commands are available in this buffer:
18108 @kindex q (Category)
18109 @findex gnus-category-exit
18110 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
18113 @kindex e (Category)
18114 @findex gnus-category-customize-category
18115 Use a customization buffer to set all of the selected category's
18116 parameters at one time (@code{gnus-category-customize-category}).
18119 @kindex k (Category)
18120 @findex gnus-category-kill
18121 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
18124 @kindex c (Category)
18125 @findex gnus-category-copy
18126 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
18129 @kindex a (Category)
18130 @findex gnus-category-add
18131 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
18134 @kindex p (Category)
18135 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
18136 Edit the predicate of the current category
18137 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
18140 @kindex g (Category)
18141 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
18142 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
18143 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
18146 @kindex s (Category)
18147 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
18148 Edit the download score rule of the current category
18149 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
18152 @kindex l (Category)
18153 @findex gnus-category-list
18154 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
18158 @node Category Variables
18159 @subsubsection Category Variables
18162 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
18163 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
18164 Hook run in category buffers.
18166 @item gnus-category-line-format
18167 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
18168 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
18169 Variables}). Valid elements are:
18173 The name of the category.
18176 The number of groups in the category.
18179 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
18180 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
18181 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
18183 @item gnus-agent-short-article
18184 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
18185 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
18187 @item gnus-agent-long-article
18188 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
18189 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
18191 @item gnus-agent-low-score
18192 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
18193 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
18196 @item gnus-agent-high-score
18197 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
18198 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
18201 @item gnus-agent-expire-days
18202 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18203 The number of days that a @samp{read} article must stay in the agent's
18204 local disk before becoming eligible for expiration (While the name is
18205 the same, this doesn't mean expiring the article on the server. It
18206 just means deleting the local copy of the article). What is also
18207 important to understand is that the counter starts with the time the
18208 article was written to the local disk and not the time the article was
18212 @item gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18213 @vindex gnus-agent-enable-expiration
18214 Determines whether articles in a group are, by default, expired or
18215 retained indefinitely. The default is @code{ENABLE} which means that
18216 you'll have to disable expiration when desired. On the other hand,
18217 you could set this to @code{DISABLE}. In that case, you would then
18218 have to enable expiration in selected groups.
18223 @node Agent Commands
18224 @subsection Agent Commands
18225 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-plugged
18226 @kindex J j (Agent)
18228 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
18229 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged}) command works in all modes, and
18230 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
18234 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
18235 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
18236 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
18242 @node Group Agent Commands
18243 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
18247 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
18248 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
18249 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
18250 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
18253 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
18254 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
18255 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
18258 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
18259 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
18260 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
18261 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
18264 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
18265 @findex gnus-group-send-queue
18266 Send all sendable messages in the queue group
18267 (@code{gnus-group-send-queue}). @xref{Drafts}.
18270 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
18271 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
18272 Add the current group to an Agent category
18273 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
18274 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18277 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
18278 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
18279 Remove the current group from its category, if any
18280 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
18281 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
18284 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
18285 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18286 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
18292 @node Summary Agent Commands
18293 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
18297 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
18298 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
18299 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
18302 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
18303 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
18304 Remove the downloading mark from the article
18305 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
18309 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
18310 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
18311 Toggle whether to download the article
18312 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}). The download mark is @samp{%} by
18316 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
18317 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
18318 Mark all articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}) that are neither cached, downloaded, nor downloadable.
18321 @kindex J S (Agent Summary)
18322 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-group
18323 Download all eligible (@pxref{Agent Categories}) articles in this group.
18324 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-group}).
18327 @kindex J s (Agent Summary)
18328 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-series
18329 Download all processable articles in this group.
18330 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-series}).
18333 @kindex J u (Agent Summary)
18334 @findex gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group
18335 Download all downloadable articles in the current group
18336 (@code{gnus-agent-summary-fetch-group}).
18341 @node Server Agent Commands
18342 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
18346 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
18347 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
18348 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
18349 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
18352 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
18353 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
18354 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
18355 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
18360 @node Agent Visuals
18361 @subsection Agent Visuals
18363 If you open a summary while unplugged and, Gnus knows from the group's
18364 active range that there are more articles than the headers currently
18365 stored in the Agent, you may see some articles whose subject looks
18366 something like @samp{[Undownloaded article #####]}. These are
18367 placeholders for the missing headers. Aside from setting a mark,
18368 there is not much that can be done with one of these placeholders.
18369 When Gnus finally gets a chance to fetch the group's headers, the
18370 placeholders will automatically be replaced by the actual headers.
18371 You can configure the summary buffer's maneuvering to skip over the
18372 placeholders if you care (See @code{gnus-auto-goto-ignores}).
18374 While it may be obvious to all, the only headers and articles
18375 available while unplugged are those headers and articles that were
18376 fetched into the Agent while previously plugged. To put it another
18377 way, "If you forget to fetch something while plugged, you might have a
18378 less than satisfying unplugged session". For this reason, the Agent
18379 adds two visual effects to your summary buffer. These effects display
18380 the download status of each article so that you always know which
18381 articles will be available when unplugged.
18383 The first visual effect is the @samp{%O} spec. If you customize
18384 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} to include this specifier, you will add
18385 a single character field that indicates an article's download status.
18386 Articles that have been fetched into either the Agent or the Cache,
18387 will display @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} (defaults to @samp{+}). All
18388 other articles will display @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} (defaults to
18389 @samp{-}). If you open a group that has not been agentized, a space
18390 (@samp{ }) will be displayed.
18392 The second visual effect are the undownloaded faces. The faces, there
18393 are three indicating the article's score (low, normal, high), seem to
18394 result in a love/hate response from many Gnus users. The problem is
18395 that the face selection is controlled by a list of condition tests and
18396 face names (See @code{gnus-summary-highlight}). Each condition is
18397 tested in the order in which it appears in the list so early
18398 conditions have precedence over later conditions. All of this means
18399 that, if you tick an undownloaded article, the article will continue
18400 to be displayed in the undownloaded face rather than the ticked face.
18402 If you use the Agent as a cache (to avoid downloading the same article
18403 each time you visit it or to minimize your connection time), the
18404 undownloaded face will probably seem like a good idea. The reason
18405 being that you do all of our work (marking, reading, deleting) with
18406 downloaded articles so the normal faces always appear. For those
18407 users using the agent to improve online performance by caching the NOV
18408 database (most users since 5.10.2), the undownloaded faces may appear
18409 to be an absolutely horrible idea. The issue being that, since none
18410 of their articles have been fetched into the Agent, all of the
18411 normal faces will be obscured by the undownloaded faces.
18413 If you would like to use the undownloaded faces, you must enable the
18414 undownloaded faces by setting the @code{agent-enable-undownloaded-faces}
18415 group parameter to t. This parameter, like all other agent
18416 parameters, may be set on an Agent Category (@pxref{Agent
18417 Categories}), a Group Topic (@pxref{Topic Parameters}), or an
18418 individual group (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
18420 The one problem common to all users using the agent is how quickly it
18421 can consume disk space. If you using the agent on many groups, it is
18422 even more difficult to effectively recover disk space. One solution
18423 is the @samp{%F} format available in @code{gnus-group-line-format}.
18424 This format will display the actual disk space used by articles
18425 fetched into both the agent and cache. By knowing which groups use
18426 the most space, users know where to focus their efforts when ``agent
18427 expiring'' articles.
18429 @node Agent as Cache
18430 @subsection Agent as Cache
18432 When Gnus is plugged, it is not efficient to download headers or
18433 articles from the server again, if they are already stored in the
18434 Agent. So, Gnus normally only downloads headers once, and stores them
18435 in the Agent. These headers are later used when generating the summary
18436 buffer, regardless of whether you are plugged or unplugged. Articles
18437 are not cached in the Agent by default though (that would potentially
18438 consume lots of disk space), but if you have already downloaded an
18439 article into the Agent, Gnus will not download the article from the
18440 server again but use the locally stored copy instead.
18442 If you so desire, you can configure the agent (see @code{gnus-agent-cache}
18443 @pxref{Agent Variables}) to always download headers and articles while
18444 plugged. Gnus will almost certainly be slower, but it will be kept
18445 synchronized with the server. That last point probably won't make any
18446 sense if you are using a nntp or nnimap back end.
18449 @subsection Agent Expiry
18451 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
18452 @findex gnus-agent-expire
18453 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
18454 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire-group
18455 @findex gnus-agent-expire-group
18456 @cindex agent expiry
18457 @cindex Gnus agent expiry
18460 The Agent back end, @code{nnagent}, doesn't handle expiry. Well, at
18461 least it doesn't handle it like other back ends. Instead, there are
18462 special @code{gnus-agent-expire} and @code{gnus-agent-expire-group}
18463 commands that will expire all read articles that are older than
18464 @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. They can be run whenever you feel
18465 that you're running out of space. Neither are particularly fast or
18466 efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to interrupt them (with
18467 @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started one of them.
18469 Note that other functions, e.g. @code{gnus-request-expire-articles},
18470 might run @code{gnus-agent-expire} for you to keep the agent
18471 synchronized with the group.
18473 The agent parameter @code{agent-enable-expiration} may be used to
18474 prevent expiration in selected groups.
18476 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
18477 If @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, the agent
18478 expiration commands will expire all articles---unread, read, ticked
18479 and dormant. If @code{nil} (which is the default), only read articles
18480 are eligible for expiry, and unread, ticked and dormant articles will
18481 be kept indefinitely.
18483 If you find that some articles eligible for expiry are never expired,
18484 perhaps some Gnus Agent files are corrupted. There's are special
18485 commands, @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} and
18486 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group}, to fix possible problems.
18488 @node Agent Regeneration
18489 @subsection Agent Regeneration
18491 @cindex agent regeneration
18492 @cindex Gnus agent regeneration
18493 @cindex regeneration
18495 The local data structures used by @code{nnagent} may become corrupted
18496 due to certain exceptional conditions. When this happens,
18497 @code{nnagent} functionality may degrade or even fail. The solution
18498 to this problem is to repair the local data structures by removing all
18499 internal inconsistencies.
18501 For example, if your connection to your server is lost while
18502 downloaded articles into the agent, the local data structures will not
18503 know about articles successfully downloaded prior to the connection
18504 failure. Running @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} or
18505 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} will update the data structures
18506 such that you don't need to download these articles a second time.
18508 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate
18509 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate
18510 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} will perform
18511 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} on every agentized group. While
18512 you can run @code{gnus-agent-regenerate} in any buffer, it is strongly
18513 recommended that you first close all summary buffers.
18515 @findex gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18516 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-regenerate-group
18517 The command @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} uses the local copies
18518 of individual articles to repair the local @acronym{NOV}(header) database. It
18519 then updates the internal data structures that document which articles
18520 are stored locally. An optional argument will mark articles in the
18523 @node Agent and IMAP
18524 @subsection Agent and IMAP
18526 The Agent works with any Gnus back end, including nnimap. However,
18527 since there are some conceptual differences between @acronym{NNTP} and
18528 @acronym{IMAP}, this section (should) provide you with some information to
18529 make Gnus Agent work smoother as a @acronym{IMAP} Disconnected Mode client.
18531 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
18532 are kept on the @acronym{IMAP} server, rather than in @file{.newsrc} as is the
18533 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
18534 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
18536 Gnus keeps track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
18537 Agent. When you plug back in, Gnus will check if you have any changed
18538 any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these with the server.
18539 The behavior is customizable by @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
18541 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
18542 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
18543 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, which is
18544 the default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so
18545 ask if you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has
18546 any other value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
18548 If you do not wish to synchronize flags automatically when you
18549 re-connect, you can do it manually with the
18550 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
18551 in the group buffer.
18553 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
18554 expect from a disconnected @acronym{IMAP} client, including:
18559 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
18562 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
18566 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by ``pushing''
18567 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
18568 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
18569 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on an article, quit the group and
18570 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
18571 removed from the server when you ``synchronize''. The queued flag
18572 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
18573 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
18576 @node Outgoing Messages
18577 @subsection Outgoing Messages
18579 By default, when Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail
18580 and news) are stored in the draft group ``queue'' (@pxref{Drafts}).
18581 You can view them there after posting, and edit them at will.
18583 You can control the circumstances under which outgoing mail is queued
18584 (see @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail}, @pxref{Agent Variables}). Outgoing
18585 news is always queued when Gnus is unplugged, and never otherwise.
18587 You can send the messages either from the draft group with the special
18588 commands available there, or you can use the @kbd{J S} command in the
18589 group buffer to send all the sendable messages in the draft group.
18590 Posting news will only work when Gnus is plugged, but you can send
18593 If sending mail while unplugged does not work for you and you worry
18594 about hitting @kbd{J S} by accident when unplugged, you can have Gnus
18595 ask you to confirm your action (see
18596 @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue}, @pxref{Agent Variables}).
18598 @node Agent Variables
18599 @subsection Agent Variables
18604 Is the agent enabled? The default is @code{t}. When first enabled,
18605 the agent will use @code{gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods} to
18606 automatically mark some backends as agentized. You may change which
18607 backends are agentized using the agent commands in the server buffer.
18609 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
18610 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
18613 @item gnus-agent-directory
18614 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
18615 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
18616 @file{~/News/agent/}.
18618 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
18619 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
18620 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
18621 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
18622 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
18625 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18626 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
18627 Hook run when connecting to the network.
18629 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18630 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
18631 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
18633 @item gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18634 @vindex gnus-agent-fetched-hook
18635 Hook run when finished fetching articles.
18637 @item gnus-agent-cache
18638 @vindex gnus-agent-cache
18639 Variable to control whether use the locally stored @acronym{NOV} and
18640 articles when plugged, e.g. essentially using the Agent as a cache.
18641 The default is non-@code{nil}, which means to use the Agent as a cache.
18643 @item gnus-agent-go-online
18644 @vindex gnus-agent-go-online
18645 If @code{gnus-agent-go-online} is @code{nil}, the Agent will never
18646 automatically switch offline servers into online status. If it is
18647 @code{ask}, the default, the Agent will ask if you wish to switch
18648 offline servers into online status when you re-connect. If it has any
18649 other value, all offline servers will be automatically switched into
18652 @item gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18653 @vindex gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded
18654 If @code{gnus-agent-mark-unread-after-downloaded} is non-@code{nil},
18655 mark articles as unread after downloading. This is usually a safe
18656 thing to do as the newly downloaded article has obviously not been
18657 read. The default is t.
18659 @item gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18660 @vindex gnus-agent-consider-all-articles
18661 If @code{gnus-agent-consider-all-articles} is non-@code{nil}, the
18662 agent will let the agent predicate decide whether articles need to be
18663 downloaded or not, for all articles. When @code{nil}, the default,
18664 the agent will only let the predicate decide whether unread articles
18665 are downloaded or not. If you enable this, you may also want to look
18666 into the agent expiry settings (@pxref{Category Variables}), so that
18667 the agent doesn't download articles which the agent will later expire,
18668 over and over again.
18670 @item gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18671 @vindex gnus-agent-max-fetch-size
18672 The agent fetches articles into a temporary buffer prior to parsing
18673 them into individual files. To avoid exceeding the max. buffer size,
18674 the agent alternates between fetching and parsing until all articles
18675 have been fetched. @code{gnus-agent-max-fetch-size} provides a size
18676 limit to control how often the cycling occurs. A large value improves
18677 performance. A small value minimizes the time lost should the
18678 connection be lost while fetching (You may need to run
18679 @code{gnus-agent-regenerate-group} to update the group's state.
18680 However, all articles parsed prior to loosing the connection will be
18681 available while unplugged). The default is 10M so it is unusual to
18684 @item gnus-server-unopen-status
18685 @vindex gnus-server-unopen-status
18686 Perhaps not an Agent variable, but closely related to the Agent, this
18687 variable says what will happen if Gnus cannot open a server. If the
18688 Agent is enabled, the default, @code{nil}, makes Gnus ask the user
18689 whether to deny the server or whether to unplug the agent. If the
18690 Agent is disabled, Gnus always simply deny the server. Other choices
18691 for this variable include @code{denied} and @code{offline} the latter
18692 is only valid if the Agent is used.
18694 @item gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18695 @vindex gnus-auto-goto-ignores
18696 Another variable that isn't an Agent variable, yet so closely related
18697 that most will look for it here, this variable tells the summary
18698 buffer how to maneuver around undownloaded (only headers stored in the
18699 agent) and unfetched (neither article nor headers stored) articles.
18701 The legal values are @code{nil} (maneuver to any article),
18702 @code{undownloaded} (maneuvering while unplugged ignores articles that
18703 have not been fetched), @code{always-undownloaded} (maneuvering always
18704 ignores articles that have not been fetched), @code{unfetched}
18705 (maneuvering ignores articles whose headers have not been fetched).
18707 @item gnus-agent-queue-mail
18708 @vindex gnus-agent-queue-mail
18709 When @code{gnus-agent-queue-mail} is @code{always}, Gnus will always
18710 queue mail rather than sending it straight away. When @code{t}, Gnus
18711 will queue mail when unplugged only. When @code{nil}, never queue
18712 mail. The default is @code{t}.
18714 @item gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
18715 @vindex gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue
18716 When @code{gnus-agent-prompt-send-queue} is non-@code{nil} Gnus will
18717 prompt you to confirm that you really wish to proceed if you hit
18718 @kbd{J S} while unplugged. The default is @code{nil}.
18720 @item gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18721 @vindex gnus-agent-auto-agentize-methods
18722 If you have never used the Agent before (or more technically, if
18723 @file{~/News/agent/lib/servers} does not exist), Gnus will
18724 automatically agentize a few servers for you. This variable control
18725 which backends should be auto-agentized. It is typically only useful
18726 to agentize remote backends. The auto-agentizing has the same effect
18727 as running @kbd{J a} on the servers (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}).
18728 If the file exist, you must manage the servers manually by adding or
18729 removing them, this variable is only applicable the first time you
18730 start Gnus. The default is @samp{(nntp nnimap)}.
18735 @node Example Setup
18736 @subsection Example Setup
18738 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
18739 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
18740 @file{~/.gnus.el} file to get started.
18743 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @acronym{NNTP}}
18744 ;;; @r{from your ISP's server.}
18745 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
18747 ;;; @r{Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from}
18748 ;;; @r{your ISP's @acronym{POP} server.}
18749 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
18751 ;;; @r{Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.}
18752 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
18754 ;;; @r{Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.}
18755 ;;; (gnus-agentize) ; @r{The obsolete setting.}
18756 ;;; (setq gnus-agent t) ; @r{Now the default.}
18759 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
18760 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
18763 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
18764 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
18765 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
18766 @acronym{NNTP} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
18767 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
18770 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
18771 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
18772 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
18773 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
18774 back all the killed groups.)
18776 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
18777 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
18778 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
18781 @node Batching Agents
18782 @subsection Batching Agents
18783 @findex gnus-agent-batch
18785 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
18786 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
18787 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
18789 You can run a complete batch command from the command line with the
18790 following incantation:
18794 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null 2>&1
18798 @node Agent Caveats
18799 @subsection Agent Caveats
18801 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
18802 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
18806 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the Agent?
18808 @strong{No}. If you want this behaviour, add
18809 @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} to
18810 @code{gnus-select-article-hook}.
18812 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists in
18813 the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
18815 @strong{No}, unless @code{gnus-agent-cache} is @code{nil}.
18819 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
18820 articles; when it's plugged, it talks to your ISP and may also use the
18821 locally stored articles.
18828 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
18829 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
18830 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
18833 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
18834 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
18835 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
18836 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
18837 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
18839 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
18840 before generating the summary buffer.
18842 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
18843 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
18844 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
18846 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
18847 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
18848 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
18849 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
18852 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
18853 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
18854 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
18855 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
18856 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
18857 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
18858 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
18859 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
18860 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
18861 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
18862 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
18863 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
18864 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
18865 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
18866 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
18867 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
18871 @node Summary Score Commands
18872 @section Summary Score Commands
18873 @cindex score commands
18875 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
18876 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
18877 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
18878 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
18879 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
18881 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
18882 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
18883 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
18884 score file the current one.
18886 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
18891 @kindex V s (Summary)
18892 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
18893 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
18896 @kindex V S (Summary)
18897 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
18898 Display the score of the current article
18899 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
18902 @kindex V t (Summary)
18903 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
18904 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
18905 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}). In the @code{*Score Trace*} buffer, you
18906 may type @kbd{e} to edit score file corresponding to the score rule on
18907 current line and @kbd{f} to format (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) the
18908 score file and edit it.
18911 @kindex V w (Summary)
18912 @findex gnus-score-find-favourite-words
18913 List words used in scoring (@code{gnus-score-find-favourite-words}).
18916 @kindex V R (Summary)
18917 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
18918 Run the current summary through the scoring process
18919 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
18920 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
18921 effect you're having.
18924 @kindex V c (Summary)
18925 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
18926 Make a different score file the current
18927 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
18930 @kindex V e (Summary)
18931 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
18932 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
18933 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
18937 @kindex V f (Summary)
18938 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
18939 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
18940 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
18943 @kindex V F (Summary)
18944 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
18945 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
18946 after editing score files.
18949 @kindex V C (Summary)
18950 @findex gnus-score-customize
18951 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
18952 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
18956 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
18961 @kindex V m (Summary)
18962 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
18963 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
18964 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
18967 @kindex V x (Summary)
18968 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
18969 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
18970 expunge all articles below this score
18971 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
18974 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
18975 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
18978 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
18979 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
18983 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
18984 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
18986 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
18987 keys are available:
18991 Score on the author name.
18994 Score on the subject line.
18997 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
19000 Score on the @code{References} line.
19006 Score on the number of lines.
19009 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
19012 Score on an ``extra'' header, that is, one of those in gnus-extra-headers,
19013 if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks additional header data in overviews.
19016 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
19017 the followups to this author. (Using this key leads to the creation of
19018 @file{ADAPT} files.)
19027 Score on thread. (Using this key leads to the creation of @file{ADAPT}
19033 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
19034 what headers you are scoring on.
19046 Substring matching.
19049 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
19078 Greater than number.
19083 The fourth and usually final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e.,
19084 expiring) score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry,
19085 or whether it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score
19090 Temporary score entry.
19093 Permanent score entry.
19096 Immediately scoring.
19100 If you are scoring on `e' (extra) headers, you will then be prompted for
19101 the header name on which you wish to score. This must be a header named
19102 in gnus-extra-headers, and @samp{TAB} completion is available.
19106 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
19107 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
19108 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
19109 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
19111 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
19112 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
19113 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
19114 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
19115 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
19117 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
19118 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
19119 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
19120 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
19121 current score file.
19123 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
19124 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
19125 pretend they are keymaps or not.
19128 @node Group Score Commands
19129 @section Group Score Commands
19130 @cindex group score commands
19132 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
19137 @kindex W e (Group)
19138 @findex gnus-score-edit-all-score
19139 Edit the apply-to-all-groups all.SCORE file. You will be popped into
19140 a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score File Editing}).
19143 @kindex W f (Group)
19144 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
19145 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
19146 all the time. This command will flush the cache
19147 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
19151 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
19153 @findex gnus-batch-score
19154 @cindex batch scoring
19156 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
19160 @node Score Variables
19161 @section Score Variables
19162 @cindex score variables
19166 @item gnus-use-scoring
19167 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
19168 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
19169 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
19171 @item gnus-kill-killed
19172 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
19173 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
19174 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
19175 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
19176 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
19177 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
19178 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
19180 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
19181 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
19182 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
19183 initialized from the @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
19184 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
19186 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
19187 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
19188 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
19189 (@file{SCORE} by default.)
19191 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19192 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
19193 @cindex score cache
19194 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
19195 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
19196 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely
19197 to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
19198 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
19199 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
19200 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
19203 @item gnus-save-score
19204 @vindex gnus-save-score
19205 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
19206 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
19207 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
19209 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
19210 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
19211 across group visits.
19213 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19214 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
19215 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
19216 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
19217 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
19218 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
19219 manually entered data.
19221 @item gnus-summary-default-score
19222 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
19223 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
19225 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
19226 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
19227 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
19228 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
19229 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
19230 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
19232 @item gnus-score-over-mark
19233 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
19234 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
19235 default. Default is @samp{+}.
19237 @item gnus-score-below-mark
19238 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
19239 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
19240 default. Default is @samp{-}.
19242 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19243 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
19244 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
19245 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
19247 Predefined functions available are:
19250 @item gnus-score-find-single
19251 @findex gnus-score-find-single
19252 Only apply the group's own score file.
19254 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
19255 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
19256 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
19257 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
19258 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
19259 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
19260 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
19261 then a regexp match is done.
19263 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
19264 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
19266 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
19267 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
19268 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
19269 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
19271 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19272 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
19273 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
19274 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
19275 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
19279 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all
19280 these functions will be called with the group name as argument, and
19281 all the returned lists of score files will be applied. These
19282 functions can also return lists of lists of score alists directly. In
19283 that case, the functions that return these non-file score alists
19284 should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file functions, to
19285 ensure that the last score file returned is the local score file.
19288 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
19289 overall score file, you could use the value
19291 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE"))
19292 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
19295 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
19296 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
19297 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
19298 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
19299 are expired. It's 7 by default.
19301 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19302 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
19303 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, temporary score entries that have
19304 been triggered (matched) will have their dates updated. (This is how Gnus
19305 controls expiry---all non-matched-entries will become too old while
19306 matched entries will stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this
19307 variable to @code{nil}, even matched entries will grow old and will
19308 have to face that oh-so grim reaper.
19310 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19311 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
19312 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
19314 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
19315 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
19316 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be
19317 simplified for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
19318 threading---according to the current value of
19319 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions}. If the scoring entry uses
19320 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
19321 simplified in this manner.
19326 @node Score File Format
19327 @section Score File Format
19328 @cindex score file format
19330 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
19331 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
19332 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
19334 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
19338 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
19340 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
19342 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
19344 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
19349 (mark-and-expunge -10)
19353 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
19354 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
19355 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
19356 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
19360 This example demonstrates most score file elements. @xref{Advanced
19361 Scoring}, for a different approach.
19363 Even though this looks much like Lisp code, nothing here is actually
19364 @code{eval}ed. The Lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
19365 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
19367 Six keys are supported by this alist:
19372 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
19373 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
19374 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
19375 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
19376 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
19377 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
19378 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
19379 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
19380 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
19381 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
19382 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
19383 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
19384 to articles that matches these score entries.
19386 Following this key is an arbitrary number of score entries, where each
19387 score entry has one to four elements.
19391 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
19392 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
19396 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
19397 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
19398 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
19399 is successful. If this element is not present, the
19400 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
19401 instead. This is 1000 by default.
19404 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
19405 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
19406 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
19407 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
19408 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
19411 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
19412 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
19413 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
19414 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
19417 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
19418 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
19419 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
19420 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
19421 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
19422 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
19423 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
19424 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
19425 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
19426 instead, if you feel like.
19429 Just as for the standard string overview headers, if you are using
19430 gnus-extra-headers, you can score on these headers' values. In this
19431 case, there is a 5th element in the score entry, being the name of the
19432 header to be scored. The following entry is useful in your
19433 @file{all.SCORE} file in case of spam attacks from a single origin
19434 host, if your @acronym{NNTP} server tracks @samp{NNTP-Posting-Host} in
19438 ("111.222.333.444" -1000 nil s
19439 "NNTP-Posting-Host")
19443 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
19444 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
19446 These predicates are true if
19449 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
19452 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
19453 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
19460 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
19461 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
19462 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
19463 it's not. I think.)
19465 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some back ends (like
19466 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
19467 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
19468 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
19471 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
19472 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
19473 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
19474 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
19475 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
19476 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
19477 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
19481 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
19482 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
19483 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
19484 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
19485 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
19486 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
19487 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
19488 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
19491 @item Head, Body, All
19492 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
19496 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
19497 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
19498 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
19499 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
19500 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
19501 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
19502 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
19506 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
19507 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
19508 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
19509 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
19510 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
19511 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
19512 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
19513 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
19514 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
19515 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
19516 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
19520 @cindex score file atoms
19522 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19523 lower than this number will be marked as read.
19526 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19527 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
19529 @item mark-and-expunge
19530 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
19531 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
19534 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
19535 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
19536 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
19537 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
19538 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
19541 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
19542 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
19545 @item exclude-files
19546 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
19547 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
19551 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
19552 ignored when handling global score files.
19555 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
19556 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
19557 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
19558 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
19561 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
19562 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
19563 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
19564 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
19566 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
19570 (mark-and-expunge -100)
19573 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
19574 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
19575 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
19576 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
19577 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
19579 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where a few
19580 interesting threads which can't be found automatically by ordinary
19581 scoring rules exist.
19584 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
19585 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
19586 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
19587 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
19588 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
19589 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
19590 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19591 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
19592 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
19593 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
19594 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
19598 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
19599 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
19600 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
19601 file for a number of groups.
19604 @cindex local variables
19605 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(@var{var}
19606 @var{value})} pairs. Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the
19607 current summary buffer, and set to the value specified. This is a
19608 convenient, if somewhat strange, way of setting variables in some
19609 groups if you don't like hooks much. Note that the @var{value} won't
19614 @node Score File Editing
19615 @section Score File Editing
19617 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
19618 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
19619 with a mode for that.
19621 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
19622 additional commands:
19627 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
19628 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
19629 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
19630 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
19633 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
19634 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
19635 Insert the current date in numerical format
19636 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
19637 you were wondering.
19640 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
19641 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
19642 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
19643 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
19644 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
19649 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
19651 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
19652 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
19654 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f}, @kbd{V e} and
19655 @kbd{V t} to begin editing score files.
19658 @node Adaptive Scoring
19659 @section Adaptive Scoring
19660 @cindex adaptive scoring
19662 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
19663 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
19664 stupidity, to be precise.
19666 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
19667 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
19668 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
19669 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
19670 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
19671 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
19672 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
19673 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
19674 variable to @code{(word line)}.
19676 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19677 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
19678 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
19679 might look something like this:
19682 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
19683 '((gnus-unread-mark)
19684 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
19685 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
19686 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
19687 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
19688 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
19689 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
19690 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
19691 (gnus-ancient-mark)
19692 (gnus-low-score-mark)
19693 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
19696 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
19697 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
19698 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
19699 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
19700 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
19701 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
19704 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
19705 will be applied to each article.
19707 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
19708 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{e}) will have a
19709 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
19710 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
19712 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
19713 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
19714 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
19715 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
19717 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
19718 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
19719 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
19720 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
19722 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
19723 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
19724 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
19725 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
19726 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
19727 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
19729 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
19730 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
19731 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
19733 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
19734 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
19735 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
19737 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
19738 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
19739 let you use different rules in different groups.
19741 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
19742 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
19743 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
19746 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
19747 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
19748 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
19749 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
19750 the length of the match is less than
19751 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
19752 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
19755 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19756 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
19757 headers. If you adapt on words, the
19758 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
19759 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
19762 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
19763 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
19764 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
19765 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
19766 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
19769 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
19770 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
19771 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
19772 score with 30 points.
19774 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
19775 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
19776 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
19777 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
19778 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
19780 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit
19781 Some may feel that short words shouldn't count when doing adaptive
19782 scoring. If so, you may set @code{gnus-adaptive-word-length-limit} to
19783 an integer. Words shorter than this number will be ignored. This
19784 variable defaults to @code{nil}.
19786 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
19787 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
19788 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
19789 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
19791 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
19792 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
19793 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
19794 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
19796 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
19797 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
19798 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
19799 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
19800 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
19802 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
19803 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
19804 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
19806 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
19807 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
19808 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
19809 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
19812 @node Home Score File
19813 @section Home Score File
19815 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
19816 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
19817 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
19818 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
19820 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
19821 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
19822 could perhaps use the same home score file.
19824 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
19825 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
19830 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
19834 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
19835 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
19839 A list. The elements in this list can be:
19843 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
19844 group name, the @var{file-name} will be used as the home score file.
19847 A function. If the function returns non-@code{nil}, the result will
19848 be used as the home score file.
19851 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
19854 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
19859 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
19862 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19863 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
19866 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
19867 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
19869 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
19871 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19872 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
19875 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
19876 Other functions include
19879 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
19880 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
19881 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
19882 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
19886 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
19887 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
19888 their own home score files:
19891 (setq gnus-home-score-file
19892 ;; @r{All groups that match the regexp @code{"\\.emacs"}}
19893 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
19894 ;; @r{All the comp groups in one score file}
19895 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
19898 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
19899 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
19900 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
19901 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
19902 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
19904 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
19905 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
19906 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
19907 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
19908 precedence over this variable.
19911 @node Followups To Yourself
19912 @section Followups To Yourself
19914 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
19915 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
19916 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
19917 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
19918 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
19919 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
19923 @item gnus-score-followup-article
19924 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
19925 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
19928 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
19929 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
19930 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
19934 @vindex message-sent-hook
19935 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
19936 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
19938 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
19942 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
19943 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
19947 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19948 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
19951 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
19952 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
19957 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
19961 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
19962 is system-dependent.
19965 @node Scoring On Other Headers
19966 @section Scoring On Other Headers
19967 @cindex scoring on other headers
19969 Gnus is quite fast when scoring the ``traditional''
19970 headers---@samp{From}, @samp{Subject} and so on. However, scoring
19971 other headers requires writing a @code{head} scoring rule, which means
19972 that Gnus has to request every single article from the back end to find
19973 matches. This takes a long time in big groups.
19975 Now, there's not much you can do about this for news groups, but for
19976 mail groups, you have greater control. In @ref{To From Newsgroups},
19977 it's explained in greater detail what this mechanism does, but here's
19978 a cookbook example for @code{nnml} on how to allow scoring on the
19979 @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} headers.
19981 Put the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
19984 (setq gnus-extra-headers '(To Cc Newsgroups Keywords)
19985 nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
19988 Restart Gnus and rebuild your @code{nnml} overview files with the
19989 @kbd{M-x nnml-generate-nov-databases} command. This will take a long
19990 time if you have much mail.
19992 Now you can score on @samp{To} and @samp{Cc} as ``extra headers'' like
19993 so: @kbd{I e s p To RET <your name> RET}.
19999 @section Scoring Tips
20000 @cindex scoring tips
20006 @cindex scoring crossposts
20007 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
20008 the @code{Xref} header.
20010 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
20013 @item Multiple crossposts
20014 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
20015 more than, say, 3 groups:
20018 ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+"
20022 @item Matching on the body
20023 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
20024 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
20025 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
20026 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
20027 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
20028 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
20029 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
20032 @item Marking as read
20033 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
20034 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
20035 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
20039 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
20041 @item Negated character classes
20042 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
20043 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
20044 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
20048 @node Reverse Scoring
20049 @section Reverse Scoring
20050 @cindex reverse scoring
20052 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
20053 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
20054 like this in your score file:
20058 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
20063 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
20064 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
20067 @node Global Score Files
20068 @section Global Score Files
20069 @cindex global score files
20071 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
20072 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
20073 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
20075 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
20076 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
20077 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
20079 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
20080 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
20081 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
20082 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
20083 files are applicable to which group.
20085 To use the score file
20086 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
20087 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory,
20091 (setq gnus-global-score-files
20092 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
20093 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
20096 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
20098 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
20099 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
20100 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
20101 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
20103 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
20104 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
20106 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
20107 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
20108 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
20109 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
20110 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
20111 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
20113 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
20119 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
20121 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
20123 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
20125 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
20126 lowered out of existence.
20128 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
20129 articles completely.
20132 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
20133 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
20134 old articles for a long time.
20137 @dots{} I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
20138 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
20139 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
20140 holding our breath yet?
20144 @section Kill Files
20147 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
20148 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
20149 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
20151 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
20152 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
20153 files into score files.
20155 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
20156 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
20157 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
20158 that isn't a very good idea.
20160 Normal kill files look like this:
20163 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20164 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
20168 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
20169 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
20171 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
20172 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
20175 Two summary functions for editing a @sc{gnus} kill file:
20180 @kindex M-k (Summary)
20181 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
20182 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
20185 @kindex M-K (Summary)
20186 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
20187 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
20190 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
20195 @kindex M-k (Group)
20196 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
20197 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
20200 @kindex M-K (Group)
20201 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
20202 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
20205 Kill file variables:
20208 @item gnus-kill-file-name
20209 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
20210 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
20211 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
20212 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
20213 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
20214 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
20216 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20217 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
20218 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
20219 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
20222 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
20223 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
20224 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
20225 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
20226 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
20227 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
20228 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
20229 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
20230 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
20232 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20233 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
20234 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
20239 @node Converting Kill Files
20240 @section Converting Kill Files
20242 @cindex converting kill files
20244 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
20245 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
20246 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
20249 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
20250 You can fetch it from
20251 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
20253 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
20254 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
20255 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
20259 @node Advanced Scoring
20260 @section Advanced Scoring
20262 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
20263 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
20264 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
20265 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
20266 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
20268 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
20272 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
20273 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
20274 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
20278 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
20279 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
20281 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
20282 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
20283 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
20284 non-@code{nil} value.
20286 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
20287 operator, and various match operators.
20294 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20295 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
20296 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
20301 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
20302 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
20303 then this operator will return @code{false}.
20308 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
20309 logical negation of the value of its argument.
20313 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
20314 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
20315 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
20316 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
20317 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
20318 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
20319 the ancestry you want to go.
20321 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
20322 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
20323 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
20324 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
20325 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
20328 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
20329 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
20331 Please note that the following examples are score file rules. To
20332 make a complete score file from them, surround them with another pair
20335 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
20336 when he's talking about Gnus:
20341 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20342 ("subject" "Gnus"))
20349 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
20353 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20360 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
20361 really don't want to read what he's written:
20365 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
20366 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
20370 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
20371 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
20372 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
20379 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
20380 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
20381 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
20382 ("body" "white.*socks"))
20386 The possibilities are endless.
20389 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
20390 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
20392 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
20393 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
20394 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
20395 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
20396 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
20397 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
20398 @samp{subject}) first.
20400 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
20401 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
20412 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
20413 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
20419 ("subject" "Gnus")))
20426 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
20427 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
20432 @section Score Decays
20433 @cindex score decays
20436 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
20437 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
20438 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
20439 use them in any sensible way.
20441 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
20442 @findex gnus-decay-score
20443 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
20444 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
20445 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
20446 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
20447 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
20448 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
20449 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
20450 definition of that function:
20453 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
20454 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
20455 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
20457 (* (if (< score 0) -1 1)
20459 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
20461 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
20462 (if (and (featurep 'xemacs)
20463 ;; XEmacs' floor can handle only the floating point
20464 ;; number below the half of the maximum integer.
20465 (> (abs n) (lsh -1 -2)))
20467 (car (split-string (number-to-string n) "\\.")))
20471 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
20472 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
20473 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
20474 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
20478 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
20481 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
20484 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
20488 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
20489 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
20490 the new score, which should be an integer.
20492 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
20493 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
20498 @include message.texi
20499 @chapter Emacs MIME
20500 @include emacs-mime.texi
20502 @include sieve.texi
20514 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
20515 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
20516 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
20517 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
20518 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
20519 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
20520 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
20521 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
20522 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
20523 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
20524 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
20525 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
20526 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
20527 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
20528 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
20529 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
20530 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
20531 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
20532 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
20533 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
20537 @node Process/Prefix
20538 @section Process/Prefix
20539 @cindex process/prefix convention
20541 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
20542 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
20544 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
20545 command to be performed on.
20549 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
20550 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
20551 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
20552 with the current one.
20554 @vindex transient-mark-mode
20555 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
20556 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
20558 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
20559 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
20562 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
20563 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
20565 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
20568 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
20569 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
20570 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
20571 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
20573 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
20574 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
20575 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
20576 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
20577 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
20578 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
20579 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
20580 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
20582 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
20583 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
20584 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
20585 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
20586 expirable, you could say @kbd{M P b M-& E}.
20590 @section Interactive
20591 @cindex interaction
20595 @item gnus-novice-user
20596 @vindex gnus-novice-user
20597 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
20598 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
20599 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
20600 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
20603 @item gnus-expert-user
20604 @vindex gnus-expert-user
20605 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
20606 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
20607 matter how strange.
20609 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
20610 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
20611 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
20612 is @code{t} by default.
20614 @item gnus-interactive-exit
20615 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
20616 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
20621 @node Symbolic Prefixes
20622 @section Symbolic Prefixes
20623 @cindex symbolic prefixes
20625 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
20626 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
20627 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
20628 rule of 900 to the current article.
20630 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
20631 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
20632 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
20633 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
20634 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
20635 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
20636 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
20638 @kindex M-i (Summary)
20639 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
20640 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
20641 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
20642 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
20643 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a C-M-u} means ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u}
20644 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b C-M-u} means
20645 ``feed the @kbd{C-M-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
20646 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
20648 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
20649 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
20650 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
20652 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
20656 @node Formatting Variables
20657 @section Formatting Variables
20658 @cindex formatting variables
20660 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
20661 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
20662 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
20663 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
20664 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
20667 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
20668 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
20669 lots of percentages everywhere.
20672 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
20673 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
20674 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
20675 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
20676 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
20677 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
20678 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
20679 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
20682 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
20683 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
20684 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
20685 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
20686 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
20687 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
20688 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
20689 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
20691 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
20692 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
20694 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
20695 @findex gnus-update-format
20696 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
20697 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
20698 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
20699 examine the resulting Lisp code to be run to generate the line.
20703 @node Formatting Basics
20704 @subsection Formatting Basics
20706 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
20707 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
20708 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
20710 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
20711 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
20712 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
20713 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
20714 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
20717 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
20718 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
20719 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
20720 less than 4 characters wide.
20722 Also Gnus supports some extended format specifications, such as
20723 @samp{%&user-date;}.
20726 @node Mode Line Formatting
20727 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
20729 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
20730 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
20731 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
20732 with the following two differences:
20737 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
20740 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
20741 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
20742 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
20743 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
20744 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
20745 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
20746 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
20751 @node Advanced Formatting
20752 @subsection Advanced Formatting
20754 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
20755 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
20756 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
20757 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
20759 These are the valid modifiers:
20764 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
20768 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
20773 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
20776 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
20781 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
20784 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
20787 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
20790 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
20796 "~(form (current-time-string))@@"
20801 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
20802 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
20803 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
20804 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
20805 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
20806 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
20807 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
20809 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
20810 last operation, padding.
20812 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
20813 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
20814 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
20815 @xref{Compilation}.
20818 @node User-Defined Specs
20819 @subsection User-Defined Specs
20821 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
20822 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
20823 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
20824 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
20825 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
20826 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
20827 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
20828 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
20829 should protect against that.
20831 Also Gnus supports extended user-defined specs, such as @samp{%u&foo;}.
20832 Gnus will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{foo}.
20834 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
20835 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
20836 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
20837 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
20841 @node Formatting Fonts
20842 @subsection Formatting Fonts
20844 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
20845 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
20846 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
20847 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
20850 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
20851 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
20852 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
20853 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
20854 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
20855 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
20857 Text inside the @samp{%<<} and @samp{%>>} specifiers will get the
20858 special @code{balloon-help} property set to
20859 @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you say @samp{%1<<}, you'll get
20860 @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The @code{gnus-balloon-face-*}
20861 variables should be either strings or symbols naming functions that
20862 return a string. When the mouse passes over text with this property
20863 set, a balloon window will appear and display the string. Please
20864 refer to @ref{Tooltips, ,Tooltips, emacs, The Emacs Manual},
20865 (in GNU Emacs) or the doc string of @code{balloon-help-mode} (in
20866 XEmacs) for more information on this. (For technical reasons, the
20867 guillemets have been approximated as @samp{<<} and @samp{>>} in this
20870 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
20873 ;; @r{Create three face types.}
20874 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
20875 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
20877 ;; @r{We want the article count to be in}
20878 ;; @r{a bold and green face. So we create}
20879 ;; @r{a new face called @code{my-green-bold}.}
20880 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
20881 ;; @r{Set the color.}
20882 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
20883 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
20885 ;; @r{Set the new & fancy format.}
20886 (setq gnus-group-line-format
20887 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
20890 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
20891 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
20893 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
20894 mode-line variables.
20896 @node Positioning Point
20897 @subsection Positioning Point
20899 Gnus usually moves point to a pre-defined place on each line in most
20900 buffers. By default, point move to the first colon character on the
20901 line. You can customize this behaviour in three different ways.
20903 You can move the colon character to somewhere else on the line.
20905 @findex gnus-goto-colon
20906 You can redefine the function that moves the point to the colon. The
20907 function is called @code{gnus-goto-colon}.
20909 But perhaps the most convenient way to deal with this, if you don't want
20910 to have a colon in your line, is to use the @samp{%*} specifier. If you
20911 put a @samp{%*} somewhere in your format line definition, Gnus will
20916 @subsection Tabulation
20918 You can usually line up your displays by padding and cutting your
20919 strings. However, when combining various strings of different size, it
20920 can often be more convenient to just output the strings, and then worry
20921 about lining up the following text afterwards.
20923 To do that, Gnus supplies tabulator specs---@samp{%=}. There are two
20924 different types---@dfn{hard tabulators} and @dfn{soft tabulators}.
20926 @samp{%50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20927 50. If the text is already past column 50, nothing will be inserted.
20928 This is the soft tabulator.
20930 @samp{%-50=} will insert space characters to pad the line up to column
20931 50. If the text is already past column 50, the excess text past column
20932 50 will be removed. This is the hard tabulator.
20935 @node Wide Characters
20936 @subsection Wide Characters
20938 Fixed width fonts in most countries have characters of the same width.
20939 Some countries, however, use Latin characters mixed with wider
20940 characters---most notable East Asian countries.
20942 The problem is that when formatting, Gnus assumes that if a string is 10
20943 characters wide, it'll be 10 Latin characters wide on the screen. In
20944 these countries, that's not true.
20946 @vindex gnus-use-correct-string-widths
20947 To help fix this, you can set @code{gnus-use-correct-string-widths} to
20948 @code{t}. This makes buffer generation slower, but the results will be
20949 prettier. The default value under XEmacs is @code{t} but @code{nil}
20953 @node Window Layout
20954 @section Window Layout
20955 @cindex window layout
20957 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
20959 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
20960 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
20961 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
20962 @code{t} by default.
20964 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
20965 glitches. Use at your own peril.
20967 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
20968 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
20969 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
20972 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
20973 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
20974 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20978 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
20979 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
20980 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
20981 possible names is listed below.
20983 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
20984 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
20987 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
20991 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
20992 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
20993 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
20994 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
20995 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
20996 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
20997 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
20998 size spec per split.
21000 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
21001 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
21002 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
21003 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
21004 present) gets focus.
21006 Here's a more complicated example:
21009 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
21010 (summary 0.25 point)
21011 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
21015 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
21016 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
21017 occupy, not a percentage.
21019 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
21020 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
21021 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
21022 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
21023 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
21026 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
21029 (article (horizontal 1.0
21034 (summary 0.25 point)
21039 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
21040 @code{horizontal} thingie?
21042 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
21043 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
21044 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
21045 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
21046 the screen is to be given to this strip.
21048 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
21049 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
21050 lines from the splits.
21052 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
21057 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
21058 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
21059 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
21060 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
21061 buffer = "(" buf-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
21062 size = number | frame-params
21063 buf-name = group | article | summary ...
21067 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
21068 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
21069 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
21070 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
21072 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
21073 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
21074 @cindex window height
21075 @cindex window width
21076 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
21077 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
21078 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
21079 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
21080 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
21081 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
21083 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
21084 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
21085 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
21086 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
21088 @findex gnus-configure-frame
21089 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
21090 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
21091 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
21092 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
21093 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
21094 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
21095 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
21096 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
21097 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
21098 configuration list.
21101 (gnus-configure-frame
21105 (article 0.3 point))
21113 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
21114 @code{frame} split:
21117 (gnus-configure-frame
21120 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
21122 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
21123 (user-position . t)
21124 (left . -1) (top . 1))
21129 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
21130 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
21131 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
21132 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
21133 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
21134 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
21135 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
21136 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
21138 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
21139 be found in its default value.
21141 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
21142 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
21143 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
21147 (message (horizontal 1.0
21148 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
21150 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
21155 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
21156 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
21157 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
21162 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
21163 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
21164 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
21165 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
21166 (name . "Message"))
21167 (message 1.0 point))))
21170 @findex gnus-add-configuration
21171 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
21172 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
21173 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
21174 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
21177 (gnus-add-configuration
21178 '(article (vertical 1.0
21180 (summary .25 point)
21184 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
21185 @file{~/.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
21186 Gnus has been loaded.
21188 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
21189 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
21190 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
21191 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
21192 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
21194 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
21195 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
21196 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
21199 @subsection Example Window Configurations
21203 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
21204 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
21219 (gnus-add-configuration
21222 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21224 (summary 0.16 point)
21227 (gnus-add-configuration
21230 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
21231 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
21237 @node Faces and Fonts
21238 @section Faces and Fonts
21243 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
21244 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
21245 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
21250 @section Compilation
21251 @cindex compilation
21252 @cindex byte-compilation
21254 @findex gnus-compile
21256 Remember all those line format specification variables?
21257 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
21258 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
21259 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
21260 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
21261 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
21264 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
21265 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
21266 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
21267 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
21268 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
21269 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
21270 them into the @file{~/.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
21274 @section Mode Lines
21277 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
21278 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
21279 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
21280 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
21281 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
21282 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
21283 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
21286 @cindex display-time
21288 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
21289 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
21290 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
21291 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
21292 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
21293 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
21294 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
21295 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
21298 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
21300 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
21301 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
21303 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
21304 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
21305 (length display-time-string)))))
21308 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
21309 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
21310 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
21311 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
21312 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
21315 @node Highlighting and Menus
21316 @section Highlighting and Menus
21318 @cindex highlighting
21321 @vindex gnus-visual
21322 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
21323 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
21324 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
21327 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
21328 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
21331 @item group-highlight
21332 Do highlights in the group buffer.
21333 @item summary-highlight
21334 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
21335 @item article-highlight
21336 Do highlights in the article buffer.
21338 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
21340 Create menus in the group buffer.
21342 Create menus in the summary buffers.
21344 Create menus in the article buffer.
21346 Create menus in the browse buffer.
21348 Create menus in the server buffer.
21350 Create menus in the score buffers.
21352 Create menus in all buffers.
21355 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
21356 buffers, you could say something like:
21359 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
21362 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
21365 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
21368 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
21369 in all Gnus buffers.
21371 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
21374 @item gnus-mouse-face
21375 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
21376 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
21377 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
21381 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
21385 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
21386 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
21387 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
21389 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
21390 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
21391 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
21393 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
21394 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
21395 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
21397 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
21398 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
21399 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
21401 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
21402 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
21403 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
21405 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
21406 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
21407 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
21418 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
21419 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
21420 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
21421 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
21422 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
21426 @vindex gnus-carpal
21427 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
21428 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
21429 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
21434 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21435 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
21436 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
21438 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
21439 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
21440 Face used on buttons.
21442 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
21443 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
21444 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
21446 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21447 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
21448 Buttons in the group buffer.
21450 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21451 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
21452 Buttons in the summary buffer.
21454 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21455 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
21456 Buttons in the server buffer.
21458 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21459 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
21460 Buttons in the browse buffer.
21463 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
21464 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
21465 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
21473 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
21474 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
21475 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
21476 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
21477 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
21479 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
21480 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
21481 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
21483 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
21484 been idle for thirty minutes:
21487 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
21490 Here's a handler that scans for @acronym{PGP} headers every hour when
21494 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
21497 This @var{time} parameter and that @var{idle} parameter work together
21498 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
21499 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21501 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
21502 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
21503 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
21504 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
21506 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
21507 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
21508 @var{idle} minutes.
21510 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
21511 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
21514 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
21515 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
21516 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
21518 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
21519 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
21520 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
21521 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
21523 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
21524 your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21526 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
21528 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
21531 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
21532 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
21533 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
21534 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
21535 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
21536 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
21537 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
21538 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
21539 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
21540 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
21541 @file{~/.gnus.el} if you want those abilities.
21543 @findex gnus-demon-init
21544 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
21545 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
21546 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
21547 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
21548 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
21550 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
21551 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
21552 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
21561 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
21562 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
21564 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
21565 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
21566 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
21567 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
21570 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
21571 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
21572 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
21573 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
21575 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
21576 this will make spam disappear.
21578 There are some variables to customize, of course:
21581 @item gnus-use-nocem
21582 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
21583 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
21586 @item gnus-nocem-groups
21587 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
21588 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
21591 ("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
21592 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")
21595 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
21596 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
21597 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
21598 people you want to listen to. The default is
21600 ("Automoose-1" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
21601 "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo" "hweede@@snafu.de")
21603 fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
21605 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at@*
21606 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
21608 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
21609 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
21610 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
21611 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
21612 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
21613 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
21614 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
21615 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
21616 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
21617 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
21619 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
21620 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
21623 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
21626 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
21627 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
21630 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
21633 The specs are applied left-to-right.
21636 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
21637 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
21639 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
21640 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
21641 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
21642 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
21644 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
21645 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
21648 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
21650 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
21658 This might be dangerous, though.
21660 @item gnus-nocem-directory
21661 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
21662 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is@*
21663 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
21665 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21666 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
21667 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
21668 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
21669 might then see old spam.
21671 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
21672 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
21673 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
21674 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
21675 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
21678 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21679 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
21680 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
21681 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
21685 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
21686 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
21687 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
21688 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
21695 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
21696 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
21697 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
21699 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
21700 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
21701 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
21702 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
21703 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
21704 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
21705 @code{undo} function.
21707 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
21708 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
21709 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
21710 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
21711 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
21712 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
21713 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
21714 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
21715 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
21716 never be totally undoable.
21718 @findex gnus-undo-mode
21719 @vindex gnus-use-undo
21721 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
21722 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
21723 default. The @kbd{C-M-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo}
21724 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
21728 @node Predicate Specifiers
21729 @section Predicate Specifiers
21730 @cindex predicate specifiers
21732 Some Gnus variables are @dfn{predicate specifiers}. This is a special
21733 form that allows flexible specification of predicates without having
21734 to type all that much.
21736 These specifiers are lists consisting of functions, symbols and lists.
21741 (or gnus-article-unseen-p
21742 gnus-article-unread-p)
21745 The available symbols are @code{or}, @code{and} and @code{not}. The
21746 functions all take one parameter.
21748 @findex gnus-make-predicate
21749 Internally, Gnus calls @code{gnus-make-predicate} on these specifiers
21750 to create a function that can be called. This input parameter to this
21751 function will be passed along to all the functions in the predicate
21756 @section Moderation
21759 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
21760 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
21761 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
21764 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
21768 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
21771 in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file.
21773 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
21778 You split your incoming mail by matching on
21779 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
21780 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
21783 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
21784 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
21787 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
21788 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
21792 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
21795 (setq gnus-moderated-list
21796 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
21800 @node Image Enhancements
21801 @section Image Enhancements
21803 XEmacs, as well as Emacs 21@footnote{Emacs 21 on MS Windows doesn't
21804 support images yet.}, is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has
21805 taken advantage of that.
21808 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
21809 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
21810 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
21811 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
21812 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
21820 @code{X-Face} headers describe a 48x48 pixel black-and-white (1 bit
21821 depth) image that's supposed to represent the author of the message.
21822 It seems to be supported by an ever-growing number of mail and news
21826 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
21827 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
21828 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
21836 Gnus now uses the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program for
21837 decoding an @code{X-Face} header normally in Emacs. While it doesn't
21838 require any other external program, you may feel it is slow if you are
21839 using a slow machine. In such a case, you can modify the following
21843 @item uncompface-use-external
21844 @vindex uncompface-use-external
21845 Specify which of the internal or the external decoder should be used.
21846 @code{nil} means to use the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface}
21847 program. @code{t} means to use the external decoder. The default value
21848 is normally @code{undecided} which means to determine it by checking
21849 whether the host machine is slow, being controlled by
21850 @code{uncompface-use-external-threshold} (which see).
21852 @item uncompface-use-external-threshold
21853 @vindex uncompface-use-external-threshold
21854 A number of seconds to check whether the host machine is slow. If the
21855 host takes time larger than this value for decoding an @code{X-Face}
21856 using the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program, it will be
21857 changed to using the external decoder. The default is 0.1 seconds.
21860 If the internal decoder is invalidated or if you are using XEmacs,
21861 decoding an @code{X-Face} header either requires an Emacs that has
21862 @samp{compface} support (which most XEmacs versions has), or that you
21863 have @samp{compface} installed on your system. If either is true,
21864 Gnus will default to displaying @code{X-Face} headers.
21866 The variable that controls this is the
21867 @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If this variable is a
21868 string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell. If it is a
21869 function, this function will be called with the face as the argument.
21870 If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp) matches
21871 the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
21873 The default action under Emacs 20 is to fork off the @code{display}
21874 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For
21875 the @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
21876 like @code{compface} or @code{faces-xface} on a GNU/Linux system.} to
21879 Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image support, the default
21880 action is to display the face before the @code{From} header. (It's
21881 nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with @code{X-Face} support---that
21882 will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native @code{X-Face}
21883 support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
21884 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
21885 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
21886 like @code{netpbm}, @code{libgr-progs} and @code{compface}.})
21888 (Note: @code{x-face} is used in the variable/function names, not
21896 @vindex gnus-x-face
21897 Face to show X-Face. The colors from this face are used as the
21898 foreground and background colors of the displayed X-Faces. The
21899 default colors are black and white.
21901 @item gnus-face-properties-alist
21902 @vindex gnus-face-properties-alist
21903 Alist of image types and properties applied to Face (@pxref{Face}) and
21904 X-Face images. The default value is @code{((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face))
21905 (png . nil))} for Emacs or @code{((xface . (:face gnus-x-face)))} for
21906 XEmacs. Here are examples:
21909 ;; Specify the altitude of Face and X-Face images in the From header.
21910 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
21911 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :ascent 80))
21912 (png . (:ascent 80))))
21914 ;; Show Face and X-Face images as pressed buttons.
21915 (setq gnus-face-properties-alist
21916 '((pbm . (:face gnus-x-face :relief -2))
21917 (png . (:relief -2))))
21920 @pxref{Image Descriptors, ,Image Descriptors, elisp, The Emacs Lisp
21921 Reference Manual} for the valid properties for various image types.
21922 Currently, @code{pbm} is used for X-Face images and @code{png} is used
21923 for Face images in Emacs. Only the @code{:face} property is effective
21924 on the @code{xface} image type in XEmacs if it is built with the
21925 @samp{libcompface} library.
21928 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21929 easier insertion of X-Face headers in outgoing messages.
21931 @findex gnus-random-x-face
21932 @vindex gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command
21933 @vindex gnus-x-face-directory
21934 @code{gnus-random-x-face} goes through all the @samp{pbm} files in
21935 @code{gnus-x-face-directory} and picks one at random, and then
21936 converts it to the X-Face format by using the
21937 @code{gnus-convert-pbm-to-x-face-command} shell command. The
21938 @samp{pbm} files should be 48x48 pixels big. It returns the X-Face
21939 header data as a string.
21941 @findex gnus-insert-random-x-face-header
21942 @code{gnus-insert-random-x-face-header} calls
21943 @code{gnus-random-x-face} and inserts a @samp{X-Face} header with the
21944 randomly generated data.
21946 @findex gnus-x-face-from-file
21947 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command
21948 @code{gnus-x-face-from-file} takes a GIF file as the parameter, and then
21949 converts the file to X-Face format by using the
21950 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-x-face-command} shell command.
21952 Here's how you would typically use the first function. Put something
21953 like the following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
21956 (setq message-required-news-headers
21957 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21958 (list '(X-Face . gnus-random-x-face))))
21961 Using the last function would be something like this:
21964 (setq message-required-news-headers
21965 (nconc message-required-news-headers
21966 (list '(X-Face . (lambda ()
21967 (gnus-x-face-from-file
21968 "~/My-face.gif"))))))
21976 @c #### FIXME: faces and x-faces'implementations should really be harmonized.
21978 @code{Face} headers are essentially a funkier version of @code{X-Face}
21979 ones. They describe a 48x48 pixel colored image that's supposed to
21980 represent the author of the message.
21983 @findex gnus-article-display-face
21984 The contents of a @code{Face} header must be a base64 encoded PNG image.
21985 See @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/circus/face/} for the precise
21988 The @code{gnus-face-properties-alist} variable affects the appearance of
21989 displayed Face images. @xref{X-Face}.
21991 Gnus provides a few convenience functions and variables to allow
21992 easier insertion of Face headers in outgoing messages.
21994 @findex gnus-convert-png-to-face
21995 @code{gnus-convert-png-to-face} takes a 48x48 PNG image, no longer than
21996 726 bytes long, and converts it to a face.
21998 @findex gnus-face-from-file
21999 @vindex gnus-convert-image-to-face-command
22000 @code{gnus-face-from-file} takes a JPEG file as the parameter, and then
22001 converts the file to Face format by using the
22002 @code{gnus-convert-image-to-face-command} shell command.
22004 Here's how you would typically use this function. Put something like the
22005 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22008 (setq message-required-news-headers
22009 (nconc message-required-news-headers
22010 (list '(Face . (lambda ()
22011 (gnus-face-from-file "~/face.jpg"))))))
22016 @subsection Smileys
22021 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/BigFace,height=20cm}}
22026 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
22027 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
22029 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
22030 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
22033 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
22036 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{8-)}, @samp{:-(} and
22037 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
22038 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
22039 text and maps that to file names.
22041 @vindex smiley-regexp-alist
22042 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist}
22043 variable. The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched;
22044 the second element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by
22045 the picture; and the third element is the name of the file to be
22048 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
22053 @item smiley-data-directory
22054 @vindex smiley-data-directory
22055 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
22057 @item gnus-smiley-file-types
22058 @vindex gnus-smiley-file-types
22059 List of suffixes on smiley file names to try.
22073 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
22074 good way to do so. It's also a great way to impress people staring
22075 over your shoulder as you read news.
22077 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
22086 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
22087 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
22088 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
22089 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
22090 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
22091 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
22092 @code{GIF} formats.
22095 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22096 For instructions on obtaining and installing the picons databases,
22097 point your Web browser at
22098 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
22100 If you are using Debian GNU/Linux, saying @samp{apt-get install
22101 picons.*} will install the picons where Gnus can find them.
22103 To enable displaying picons, simply make sure that
22104 @code{gnus-picon-databases} points to the directory containing the
22107 The following variables offer control over where things are located.
22111 @item gnus-picon-databases
22112 @vindex gnus-picon-databases
22113 The location of the picons database. This is a list of directories
22114 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
22115 subdirectories. Defaults to @code{("/usr/lib/picon"
22116 "/usr/local/faces")}.
22118 @item gnus-picon-news-directories
22119 @vindex gnus-picon-news-directories
22120 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22121 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
22123 @item gnus-picon-user-directories
22124 @vindex gnus-picon-user-directories
22125 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for user
22126 faces. @code{("users" "usenix" "local" "misc")} is the default.
22128 @item gnus-picon-domain-directories
22129 @vindex gnus-picon-domain-directories
22130 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picon-databases} for
22131 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
22132 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
22134 @item gnus-picon-file-types
22135 @vindex gnus-picon-file-types
22136 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
22137 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not built-in your Emacs.
22143 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
22146 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22147 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
22148 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
22149 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
22150 unusual directory structure.
22152 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22153 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
22154 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
22155 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
22157 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22158 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
22159 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
22160 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
22161 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
22162 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
22164 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22165 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
22166 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
22171 @subsubsection Toolbar
22175 @item gnus-use-toolbar
22176 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
22177 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
22178 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
22179 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
22181 @item gnus-group-toolbar
22182 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
22183 The toolbar in the group buffer.
22185 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
22186 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
22187 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
22189 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22190 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
22191 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
22202 @node Fuzzy Matching
22203 @section Fuzzy Matching
22204 @cindex fuzzy matching
22206 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
22207 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
22209 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
22210 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
22211 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
22213 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
22214 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
22215 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
22216 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
22217 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
22220 @node Thwarting Email Spam
22221 @section Thwarting Email Spam
22225 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22227 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
22228 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
22229 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
22230 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
22231 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
22232 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
22233 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
22234 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
22237 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
22238 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
22239 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
22240 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
22241 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
22242 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
22244 This is annoying. Here's what you can do about it.
22247 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
22248 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
22249 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
22250 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
22251 * Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package::
22252 * Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat::
22255 @node The problem of spam
22256 @subsection The problem of spam
22258 @cindex spam filtering approaches
22259 @cindex filtering approaches, spam
22261 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22263 First, some background on spam.
22265 If you have access to e-mail, you are familiar with spam (technically
22266 termed @acronym{UCE}, Unsolicited Commercial E-mail). Simply put, it
22267 exists because e-mail delivery is very cheap compared to paper mail,
22268 so only a very small percentage of people need to respond to an UCE to
22269 make it worthwhile to the advertiser. Ironically, one of the most
22270 common spams is the one offering a database of e-mail addresses for
22271 further spamming. Senders of spam are usually called @emph{spammers},
22272 but terms like @emph{vermin}, @emph{scum}, @emph{sociopaths}, and
22273 @emph{morons} are in common use as well.
22275 Spam comes from a wide variety of sources. It is simply impossible to
22276 dispose of all spam without discarding useful messages. A good
22277 example is the TMDA system, which requires senders
22278 unknown to you to confirm themselves as legitimate senders before
22279 their e-mail can reach you. Without getting into the technical side
22280 of TMDA, a downside is clearly that e-mail from legitimate sources may
22281 be discarded if those sources can't or won't confirm themselves
22282 through the TMDA system. Another problem with TMDA is that it
22283 requires its users to have a basic understanding of e-mail delivery
22286 The simplest approach to filtering spam is filtering, at the mail
22287 server or when you sort through incoming mail. If you get 200 spam
22288 messages per day from @samp{random-address@@vmadmin.com}, you block
22289 @samp{vmadmin.com}. If you get 200 messages about @samp{VIAGRA}, you
22290 discard all messages with @samp{VIAGRA} in the message. If you get
22291 lots of spam from Bulgaria, for example, you try to filter all mail
22292 from Bulgarian IPs.
22294 This, unfortunately, is a great way to discard legitimate e-mail. The
22295 risks of blocking a whole country (Bulgaria, Norway, Nigeria, China,
22296 etc.) or even a continent (Asia, Africa, Europe, etc.) from contacting
22297 you should be obvious, so don't do it if you have the choice.
22299 In another instance, the very informative and useful RISKS digest has
22300 been blocked by overzealous mail filters because it @strong{contained}
22301 words that were common in spam messages. Nevertheless, in isolated
22302 cases, with great care, direct filtering of mail can be useful.
22304 Another approach to filtering e-mail is the distributed spam
22305 processing, for instance DCC implements such a system. In essence,
22306 @var{N} systems around the world agree that a machine @var{X} in
22307 Ghana, Estonia, or California is sending out spam e-mail, and these
22308 @var{N} systems enter @var{X} or the spam e-mail from @var{X} into a
22309 database. The criteria for spam detection vary---it may be the number
22310 of messages sent, the content of the messages, and so on. When a user
22311 of the distributed processing system wants to find out if a message is
22312 spam, he consults one of those @var{N} systems.
22314 Distributed spam processing works very well against spammers that send
22315 a large number of messages at once, but it requires the user to set up
22316 fairly complicated checks. There are commercial and free distributed
22317 spam processing systems. Distributed spam processing has its risks as
22318 well. For instance legitimate e-mail senders have been accused of
22319 sending spam, and their web sites and mailing lists have been shut
22320 down for some time because of the incident.
22322 The statistical approach to spam filtering is also popular. It is
22323 based on a statistical analysis of previous spam messages. Usually
22324 the analysis is a simple word frequency count, with perhaps pairs of
22325 words or 3-word combinations thrown into the mix. Statistical
22326 analysis of spam works very well in most of the cases, but it can
22327 classify legitimate e-mail as spam in some cases. It takes time to
22328 run the analysis, the full message must be analyzed, and the user has
22329 to store the database of spam analyses. Statistical analysis on the
22330 server is gaining popularity. This has the advantage of letting the
22331 user Just Read Mail, but has the disadvantage that it's harder to tell
22332 the server that it has misclassified mail.
22334 Fighting spam is not easy, no matter what anyone says. There is no
22335 magic switch that will distinguish Viagra ads from Mom's e-mails.
22336 Even people are having a hard time telling spam apart from non-spam,
22337 because spammers are actively looking to fool us into thinking they
22338 are Mom, essentially. Spamming is irritating, irresponsible, and
22339 idiotic behavior from a bunch of people who think the world owes them
22340 a favor. We hope the following sections will help you in fighting the
22343 @node Anti-Spam Basics
22344 @subsection Anti-Spam Basics
22348 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
22350 One way of dealing with spam is having Gnus split out all spam into a
22351 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
22353 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
22354 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
22355 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
22356 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
22357 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
22358 part of the mail address.)
22361 (setq message-default-news-headers
22362 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
22365 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
22366 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22370 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
22371 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
22372 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
22377 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
22378 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
22379 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
22380 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
22382 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @acronym{SMTP} server
22383 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
22384 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
22385 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
22386 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
22387 your fancy split rule in this way:
22392 (to "larsi" "misc")
22396 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
22397 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
22398 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
22399 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
22400 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
22402 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
22403 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
22404 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
22405 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
22407 Be careful with this approach. Spammers are wise to it.
22411 @subsection SpamAssassin, Vipul's Razor, DCC, etc
22412 @cindex SpamAssassin
22413 @cindex Vipul's Razor
22416 The days where the hints in the previous section were sufficient in
22417 avoiding spam are coming to an end. There are many tools out there
22418 that claim to reduce the amount of spam you get. This section could
22419 easily become outdated fast, as new products replace old, but
22420 fortunately most of these tools seem to have similar interfaces. Even
22421 though this section will use SpamAssassin as an example, it should be
22422 easy to adapt it to most other tools.
22424 Note that this section does not involve the @code{spam.el} package,
22425 which is discussed in the next section. If you don't care for all
22426 the features of @code{spam.el}, you can make do with these simple
22429 If the tool you are using is not installed on the mail server, you
22430 need to invoke it yourself. Ideas on how to use the
22431 @code{:postscript} mail source parameter (@pxref{Mail Source
22432 Specifiers}) follow.
22436 '((file :prescript "formail -bs spamassassin < /var/mail/%u")
22440 "mv %t /tmp/foo; formail -bs spamc < /tmp/foo > %t")))
22443 Once you manage to process your incoming spool somehow, thus making
22444 the mail contain e.g.@: a header indicating it is spam, you are ready to
22445 filter it out. Using normal split methods (@pxref{Splitting Mail}):
22448 (setq nnmail-split-methods '(("spam" "^X-Spam-Flag: YES")
22452 Or using fancy split methods (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
22455 (setq nnmail-split-methods 'nnmail-split-fancy
22456 nnmail-split-fancy '(| ("X-Spam-Flag" "YES" "spam")
22460 Some people might not like the idea of piping the mail through various
22461 programs using a @code{:prescript} (if some program is buggy, you
22462 might lose all mail). If you are one of them, another solution is to
22463 call the external tools during splitting. Example fancy split method:
22466 (setq nnmail-split-fancy '(| (: kevin-spamassassin)
22468 (defun kevin-spamassassin ()
22472 (if (eq 1 (call-process-region (point-min) (point-max)
22473 "spamc" nil nil nil "-c"))
22477 Note that with the nnimap backend, message bodies will not be
22478 downloaded by default. You need to set
22479 @code{nnimap-split-download-body} to @code{t} to do that
22480 (@pxref{Splitting in IMAP}).
22482 That is about it. As some spam is likely to get through anyway, you
22483 might want to have a nifty function to call when you happen to read
22484 spam. And here is the nifty function:
22487 (defun my-gnus-raze-spam ()
22488 "Submit SPAM to Vipul's Razor, then mark it as expirable."
22490 (gnus-summary-show-raw-article)
22491 (gnus-summary-save-in-pipe "razor-report -f -d")
22492 (gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable 1))
22496 @subsection Hashcash
22499 A novel technique to fight spam is to require senders to do something
22500 costly for each message they send. This has the obvious drawback that
22501 you cannot rely on everyone in the world using this technique,
22502 since it is not part of the Internet standards, but it may be useful
22503 in smaller communities.
22505 While the tools in the previous section work well in practice, they
22506 work only because the tools are constantly maintained and updated as
22507 new form of spam appears. This means that a small percentage of spam
22508 will always get through. It also means that somewhere, someone needs
22509 to read lots of spam to update these tools. Hashcash avoids that, but
22510 instead prefers that everyone you contact through e-mail supports the
22511 scheme. You can view the two approaches as pragmatic vs dogmatic.
22512 The approaches have their own advantages and disadvantages, but as
22513 often in the real world, a combination of them is stronger than either
22514 one of them separately.
22517 The ``something costly'' is to burn CPU time, more specifically to
22518 compute a hash collision up to a certain number of bits. The
22519 resulting hashcash cookie is inserted in a @samp{X-Hashcash:}
22520 header. For more details, and for the external application
22521 @code{hashcash} you need to install to use this feature, see
22522 @uref{http://www.cypherspace.org/~adam/hashcash/}. Even more
22523 information can be found at @uref{http://www.camram.org/}.
22525 If you wish to call hashcash for each message you send, say something
22529 (require 'hashcash)
22530 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'mail-add-payment)
22533 The @file{hashcash.el} library can be found in the Gnus development
22534 contrib directory or at
22535 @uref{http://users.actrix.gen.nz/mycroft/hashcash.el}.
22537 You will need to set up some additional variables as well:
22541 @item hashcash-default-payment
22542 @vindex hashcash-default-payment
22543 This variable indicates the default number of bits the hash collision
22544 should consist of. By default this is 0, meaning nothing will be
22545 done. Suggested useful values include 17 to 29.
22547 @item hashcash-payment-alist
22548 @vindex hashcash-payment-alist
22549 Some receivers may require you to spend burn more CPU time than the
22550 default. This variable contains a list of @samp{(@var{addr}
22551 @var{amount})} cells, where @var{addr} is the receiver (email address
22552 or newsgroup) and @var{amount} is the number of bits in the collision
22553 that is needed. It can also contain @samp{(@var{addr} @var{string}
22554 @var{amount})} cells, where the @var{string} is the string to use
22555 (normally the email address or newsgroup name is used).
22559 Where the @code{hashcash} binary is installed.
22563 Currently there is no built in functionality in Gnus to verify
22564 hashcash cookies, it is expected that this is performed by your hand
22565 customized mail filtering scripts. Improvements in this area would be
22566 a useful contribution, however.
22568 @node Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22569 @subsection Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package
22570 @cindex spam filtering
22573 The idea behind @file{spam.el} is to have a control center for spam detection
22574 and filtering in Gnus. To that end, @file{spam.el} does two things: it
22575 filters new mail, and it analyzes mail known to be spam or ham.
22576 @dfn{Ham} is the name used throughout @file{spam.el} to indicate
22579 First of all, you @strong{must} run the function
22580 @code{spam-initialize} to autoload @code{spam.el} and to install the
22581 @code{spam.el} hooks. There is one exception: if you use the
22582 @code{spam-use-stat} (@pxref{spam-stat spam filtering}) setting, you
22583 should turn it on before @code{spam-initialize}:
22586 (setq spam-use-stat t) ;; if needed
22590 So, what happens when you load @file{spam.el}?
22592 First, some hooks will get installed by @code{spam-initialize}. There
22593 are some hooks for @code{spam-stat} so it can save its databases, and
22594 there are hooks so interesting things will happen when you enter and
22595 leave a group. More on the sequence of events later (@pxref{Spam
22596 ELisp Package Sequence of Events}).
22598 You get the following keyboard commands:
22608 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-spam
22609 @code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}.
22611 Mark current article as spam, showing it with the @samp{$} mark.
22612 Whenever you see a spam article, make sure to mark its summary line
22613 with @kbd{M-d} before leaving the group. This is done automatically
22614 for unread articles in @emph{spam} groups.
22620 @findex spam-bogofilter-score
22621 @code{spam-bogofilter-score}.
22623 You must have Bogofilter installed for that command to work properly.
22629 Also, when you load @file{spam.el}, you will be able to customize its
22630 variables. Try @code{customize-group} on the @samp{spam} variable
22634 * Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events::
22635 * Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail::
22636 * Spam ELisp Package Global Variables::
22637 * Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples::
22638 * Blacklists and Whitelists::
22639 * BBDB Whitelists::
22640 * Gmane Spam Reporting::
22641 * Anti-spam Hashcash Payments::
22643 * Regular Expressions Header Matching::
22645 * SpamAssassin backend::
22646 * ifile spam filtering::
22647 * spam-stat spam filtering::
22649 * Extending the Spam ELisp package::
22652 @node Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22653 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Sequence of Events
22654 @cindex spam filtering
22655 @cindex spam filtering sequence of events
22658 You must read this section to understand how @code{spam.el} works.
22659 Do not skip, speed-read, or glance through this section.
22661 There are two @emph{contact points}, if you will, between
22662 @code{spam.el} and the rest of Gnus: checking new mail for spam, and
22665 Getting new mail is done in one of two ways. You can either split
22666 your incoming mail or you can classify new articles as ham or spam
22667 when you enter the group.
22669 Splitting incoming mail is better suited to mail backends such as
22670 @code{nnml} or @code{nnimap} where new mail appears in a single file
22671 called a @dfn{Spool File}. See @xref{Spam ELisp Package Filtering of
22674 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect
22675 @vindex gnus-spam-autodetect-methods
22676 For backends such as @code{nntp} there is no incoming mail spool, so
22677 an alternate mechanism must be used. This may also happen for
22678 backends where the server is in charge of splitting incoming mail, and
22679 Gnus does not do further splitting. The @code{spam-autodetect} and
22680 @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameters (accessible with
22681 @kbd{G c} and @kbd{G p} as usual), and the corresponding variables
22682 @code{gnus-spam-autodetect} and @code{gnus-spam-autodetect-methods}
22683 (accessible with @kbd{M-x customize-variable} as usual) can help.
22685 When @code{spam-autodetect} is used (you can turn it on for a
22686 group/topic or wholesale by regex, as needed), it hooks into the
22687 process of entering a group. Thus, entering a group with unseen or
22688 unread articles becomes the substitute for checking incoming mail.
22689 Whether only unseen articles or all unread articles will be processed
22690 is determined by the @code{spam-autodetect-recheck-messages}. When
22691 set to @code{t}, unread messages will be rechecked.
22693 @code{spam-autodetect} grants the user at once more and less control
22694 of spam filtering. The user will have more control over each group's
22695 spam methods, so for instance the @samp{ding} group may have
22696 @code{spam-use-BBDB} as the autodetection method, while the
22697 @samp{suspect} group may have the @code{spam-use-blacklist} and
22698 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} methods enabled. Every article detected to
22699 be spam will be marked with the spam mark @samp{$} and processed on
22700 exit from the group as normal spam. The user has less control over
22701 the @emph{sequence} of checks, as he might with @code{spam-split}.
22703 When the newly split mail goes into groups, or messages are
22704 autodetected to be ham or spam, those groups must be exited (after
22705 entering, if needed) for further spam processing to happen. It
22706 matters whether the group is considered a ham group, a spam group, or
22707 is unclassified, based on its @code{spam-content} parameter
22708 (@pxref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). Spam groups have the
22709 additional characteristic that, when entered, any unseen or unread
22710 articles (depending on the @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam}
22711 variable) will be marked as spam. Thus, mail split into a spam group
22712 gets automatically marked as spam when you enter the group.
22714 So, when you exit a group, the @code{spam-processors} are applied, if
22715 any are set, and the processed mail is moved to the
22716 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination}
22717 depending on the article's classification. If the
22718 @code{ham-process-destination} or the @code{spam-process-destination},
22719 whichever is appropriate, are @code{nil}, the article is left in the
22722 If a spam is found in any group (this can be changed to only non-spam
22723 groups with @code{spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only}), it is
22724 processed by the active @code{spam-processors} (@pxref{Spam ELisp
22725 Package Global Variables}) when the group is exited. Furthermore, the
22726 spam is moved to the @code{spam-process-destination} (@pxref{Spam
22727 ELisp Package Global Variables}) for further training or deletion.
22728 You have to load the @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22729 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want spam to be processed
22730 no more than once. Thus, spam is detected and processed everywhere,
22731 which is what most people want. If the
22732 @code{spam-process-destination} is @code{nil}, the spam is marked as
22733 expired, which is usually the right thing to do.
22735 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22736 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22738 If a ham mail is found in a ham group, as determined by the
22739 @code{ham-marks} parameter, it is processed as ham by the active ham
22740 @code{spam-processor} when the group is exited. With the variables
22741 @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} and
22742 @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} the behavior can be further
22743 altered so ham found anywhere can be processed. You have to load the
22744 @code{gnus-registry.el} package and enable the
22745 @code{spam-log-to-registry} variable if you want ham to be processed
22746 no more than once. Thus, ham is detected and processed only when
22747 necessary, which is what most people want. More on this in
22748 @xref{Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples}.
22750 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22751 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22753 If all this seems confusing, don't worry. Soon it will be as natural
22754 as typing Lisp one-liners on a neural interface@dots{} err, sorry, that's
22755 50 years in the future yet. Just trust us, it's not so bad.
22757 @node Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22758 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Filtering of Incoming Mail
22759 @cindex spam filtering
22760 @cindex spam filtering incoming mail
22763 To use the @file{spam.el} facilities for incoming mail filtering, you
22764 must add the following to your fancy split list
22765 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy}:
22771 Note that the fancy split may be called @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or
22772 @code{nnimap-split-fancy}, depending on whether you use the nnmail or
22773 nnimap back ends to retrieve your mail.
22775 Also, @code{spam-split} will not modify incoming mail in any way.
22777 The @code{spam-split} function will process incoming mail and send the
22778 mail considered to be spam into the group name given by the variable
22779 @code{spam-split-group}. By default that group name is @samp{spam},
22780 but you can customize @code{spam-split-group}. Make sure the contents
22781 of @code{spam-split-group} are an @emph{unqualified} group name, for
22782 instance in an @code{nnimap} server @samp{your-server} the value
22783 @samp{spam} will turn out to be @samp{nnimap+your-server:spam}. The
22784 value @samp{nnimap+server:spam}, therefore, is wrong and will
22785 actually give you the group
22786 @samp{nnimap+your-server:nnimap+server:spam} which may or may not
22787 work depending on your server's tolerance for strange group names.
22789 You can also give @code{spam-split} a parameter,
22790 e.g. @code{spam-use-regex-headers} or @code{"maybe-spam"}. Why is
22793 Take these split rules (with @code{spam-use-regex-headers} and
22794 @code{spam-use-blackholes} set):
22797 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
22798 (any "ding" "ding")
22800 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22804 Now, the problem is that you want all ding messages to make it to the
22805 ding folder. But that will let obvious spam (for example, spam
22806 detected by SpamAssassin, and @code{spam-use-regex-headers}) through,
22807 when it's sent to the ding list. On the other hand, some messages to
22808 the ding list are from a mail server in the blackhole list, so the
22809 invocation of @code{spam-split} can't be before the ding rule.
22811 You can let SpamAssassin headers supersede ding rules, but all other
22812 @code{spam-split} rules (including a second invocation of the
22813 regex-headers check) will be after the ding rule:
22818 ;; @r{all spam detected by @code{spam-use-regex-headers} goes to @samp{regex-spam}}
22819 (: spam-split "regex-spam" 'spam-use-regex-headers)
22820 (any "ding" "ding")
22821 ;; @r{all other spam detected by spam-split goes to @code{spam-split-group}}
22823 ;; @r{default mailbox}
22827 This lets you invoke specific @code{spam-split} checks depending on
22828 your particular needs, and to target the results of those checks to a
22829 particular spam group. You don't have to throw all mail into all the
22830 spam tests. Another reason why this is nice is that messages to
22831 mailing lists you have rules for don't have to have resource-intensive
22832 blackhole checks performed on them. You could also specify different
22833 spam checks for your nnmail split vs. your nnimap split. Go crazy.
22835 You should still have specific checks such as
22836 @code{spam-use-regex-headers} set to @code{t}, even if you
22837 specifically invoke @code{spam-split} with the check. The reason is
22838 that when loading @file{spam.el}, some conditional loading is done
22839 depending on what @code{spam-use-xyz} variables you have set. This
22840 is usually not critical, though.
22842 @emph{Note for IMAP users}
22844 The boolean variable @code{nnimap-split-download-body} needs to be
22845 set, if you want to split based on the whole message instead of just
22846 the headers. By default, the nnimap back end will only retrieve the
22847 message headers. If you use @code{spam-check-bogofilter},
22848 @code{spam-check-ifile}, or @code{spam-check-stat} (the splitters that
22849 can benefit from the full message body), you should set this variable.
22850 It is not set by default because it will slow @acronym{IMAP} down, and
22851 that is not an appropriate decision to make on behalf of the user.
22853 @xref{Splitting in IMAP}.
22855 @emph{TODO: spam.el needs to provide a uniform way of training all the
22856 statistical databases. Some have that functionality built-in, others
22859 @node Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22860 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Global Variables
22861 @cindex spam filtering
22862 @cindex spam filtering variables
22863 @cindex spam variables
22866 @vindex gnus-spam-process-newsgroups
22867 The concepts of ham processors and spam processors are very important.
22868 Ham processors and spam processors for a group can be set with the
22869 @code{spam-process} group parameter, or the
22870 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. Ham processors take
22871 mail known to be non-spam (@emph{ham}) and process it in some way so
22872 that later similar mail will also be considered non-spam. Spam
22873 processors take mail known to be spam and process it so similar spam
22874 will be detected later.
22876 The format of the spam or ham processor entry used to be a symbol,
22877 but now it is a @sc{cons} cell. See the individual spam processor entries
22878 for more information.
22880 @vindex gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
22881 Gnus learns from the spam you get. You have to collect your spam in
22882 one or more spam groups, and set or customize the variable
22883 @code{spam-junk-mailgroups} as appropriate. You can also declare
22884 groups to contain spam by setting their group parameter
22885 @code{spam-contents} to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam}, or
22886 by customizing the corresponding variable
22887 @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}. The @code{spam-contents} group
22888 parameter and the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} variable can
22889 also be used to declare groups as @emph{ham} groups if you set their
22890 classification to @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-ham}. If
22891 groups are not classified by means of @code{spam-junk-mailgroups},
22892 @code{spam-contents}, or @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents}, they are
22893 considered @emph{unclassified}. All groups are unclassified by
22896 @vindex gnus-spam-mark
22898 In spam groups, all messages are considered to be spam by default:
22899 they get the @samp{$} mark (@code{gnus-spam-mark}) when you enter the
22900 group. If you have seen a message, had it marked as spam, then
22901 unmarked it, it won't be marked as spam when you enter the group
22902 thereafter. You can disable that behavior, so all unread messages
22903 will get the @samp{$} mark, if you set the
22904 @code{spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam} parameter to @code{nil}. You
22905 should remove the @samp{$} mark when you are in the group summary
22906 buffer for every message that is not spam after all. To remove the
22907 @samp{$} mark, you can use @kbd{M-u} to ``unread'' the article, or
22908 @kbd{d} for declaring it read the non-spam way. When you leave a
22909 group, all spam-marked (@samp{$}) articles are sent to a spam
22910 processor which will study them as spam samples.
22912 Messages may also be deleted in various other ways, and unless
22913 @code{ham-marks} group parameter gets overridden below, marks @samp{R}
22914 and @samp{r} for default read or explicit delete, marks @samp{X} and
22915 @samp{K} for automatic or explicit kills, as well as mark @samp{Y} for
22916 low scores, are all considered to be associated with articles which
22917 are not spam. This assumption might be false, in particular if you
22918 use kill files or score files as means for detecting genuine spam, you
22919 should then adjust the @code{ham-marks} group parameter.
22922 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22923 marks you want to consider ham. By default, the list contains the
22924 deleted, read, killed, kill-filed, and low-score marks (the idea is
22925 that these articles have been read, but are not spam). It can be
22926 useful to also include the tick mark in the ham marks. It is not
22927 recommended to make the unread mark a ham mark, because it normally
22928 indicates a lack of classification. But you can do it, and we'll be
22933 You can customize this group or topic parameter to be the list of
22934 marks you want to consider spam. By default, the list contains only
22935 the spam mark. It is not recommended to change that, but you can if
22936 you really want to.
22939 When you leave @emph{any} group, regardless of its
22940 @code{spam-contents} classification, all spam-marked articles are sent
22941 to a spam processor, which will study these as spam samples. If you
22942 explicit kill a lot, you might sometimes end up with articles marked
22943 @samp{K} which you never saw, and which might accidentally contain
22944 spam. Best is to make sure that real spam is marked with @samp{$},
22947 @vindex gnus-ham-process-destinations
22948 When you leave a @emph{spam} group, all spam-marked articles are
22949 marked as expired after processing with the spam processor. This is
22950 not done for @emph{unclassified} or @emph{ham} groups. Also, any
22951 @strong{ham} articles in a spam group will be moved to a location
22952 determined by either the @code{ham-process-destination} group
22953 parameter or a match in the @code{gnus-ham-process-destinations}
22954 variable, which is a list of regular expressions matched with group
22955 names (it's easiest to customize this variable with @kbd{M-x
22956 customize-variable @key{RET} gnus-ham-process-destinations}). Each
22957 group name list is a standard Lisp list, if you prefer to customize
22958 the variable manually. If the @code{ham-process-destination}
22959 parameter is not set, ham articles are left in place. If the
22960 @code{spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group} parameter is
22961 set, the ham articles are marked as unread before being moved.
22963 If ham can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
22964 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
22966 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
22967 expression! This enables you to send your ham to a regular mail
22968 group and to a @emph{ham training} group.
22970 When you leave a @emph{ham} group, all ham-marked articles are sent to
22971 a ham processor, which will study these as non-spam samples.
22973 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups
22974 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-spam-groups} is
22975 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in spam groups
22976 to be processed. Normally this is not done, you are expected instead
22977 to send your ham to a ham group and process it there.
22979 @vindex spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups
22980 By default the variable @code{spam-process-ham-in-nonham-groups} is
22981 @code{nil}. Set it to @code{t} if you want ham found in non-ham (spam
22982 or unclassified) groups to be processed. Normally this is not done,
22983 you are expected instead to send your ham to a ham group and process
22986 @vindex gnus-spam-process-destinations
22987 When you leave a @emph{ham} or @emph{unclassified} group, all
22988 @strong{spam} articles are moved to a location determined by either
22989 the @code{spam-process-destination} group parameter or a match in the
22990 @code{gnus-spam-process-destinations} variable, which is a list of
22991 regular expressions matched with group names (it's easiest to
22992 customize this variable with @kbd{M-x customize-variable @key{RET}
22993 gnus-spam-process-destinations}). Each group name list is a standard
22994 Lisp list, if you prefer to customize the variable manually. If the
22995 @code{spam-process-destination} parameter is not set, the spam
22996 articles are only expired. The group name is fully qualified, meaning
22997 that if you see @samp{nntp:servername} before the group name in the
22998 group buffer then you need it here as well.
23000 If spam can not be moved---because of a read-only backend such as
23001 @acronym{NNTP}, for example, it will be copied.
23003 Note that you can use multiples destinations per group or regular
23004 expression! This enables you to send your spam to multiple @emph{spam
23007 @vindex spam-log-to-registry
23008 The problem with processing ham and spam is that Gnus doesn't track
23009 this processing by default. Enable the @code{spam-log-to-registry}
23010 variable so @code{spam.el} will use @code{gnus-registry.el} to track
23011 what articles have been processed, and avoid processing articles
23012 multiple times. Keep in mind that if you limit the number of registry
23013 entries, this won't work as well as it does without a limit.
23015 @vindex spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam
23016 Set this variable if you want only unseen articles in spam groups to
23017 be marked as spam. By default, it is set. If you set it to
23018 @code{nil}, unread articles will also be marked as spam.
23020 @vindex spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group
23021 Set this variable if you want ham to be unmarked before it is moved
23022 out of the spam group. This is very useful when you use something
23023 like the tick mark @samp{!} to mark ham---the article will be placed
23024 in your @code{ham-process-destination}, unmarked as if it came fresh
23025 from the mail server.
23027 @vindex spam-autodetect-recheck-messages
23028 When autodetecting spam, this variable tells @code{spam.el} whether
23029 only unseen articles or all unread articles should be checked for
23030 spam. It is recommended that you leave it off.
23032 @node Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23033 @subsubsection Spam ELisp Package Configuration Examples
23034 @cindex spam filtering
23035 @cindex spam filtering configuration examples
23036 @cindex spam configuration examples
23039 @subsubheading Ted's setup
23041 From Ted Zlatanov <tzz@@lifelogs.com>.
23043 ;; @r{for @code{gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent} and spam autodetection}
23044 ;; @r{see @file{gnus-registry.el} for more information}
23045 (gnus-registry-initialize)
23048 ;; @r{I like @kbd{C-s} for marking spam}
23049 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map "\C-s" 'gnus-summary-mark-as-spam)
23052 spam-log-to-registry t ; @r{for spam autodetection}
23054 spam-use-regex-headers t ; @r{catch X-Spam-Flag (SpamAssassin)}
23055 ;; @r{all groups with @samp{spam} in the name contain spam}
23056 gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents
23057 '(("spam" gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23058 ;; @r{see documentation for these}
23059 spam-move-spam-nonspam-groups-only nil
23060 spam-mark-only-unseen-as-spam t
23061 spam-mark-ham-unread-before-move-from-spam-group t
23062 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23063 ;; @r{understand what this does before you copy it to your own setup!}
23064 nnimap-split-fancy '(|
23065 ;; @r{trace references to parents and put in their group}
23066 (: gnus-registry-split-fancy-with-parent)
23067 ;; @r{this will catch server-side SpamAssassin tags}
23068 (: spam-split 'spam-use-regex-headers)
23069 (any "ding" "ding")
23070 ;; @r{note that spam by default will go to @samp{spam}}
23072 ;; @r{default mailbox}
23075 ;; @r{my parameters, set with @kbd{G p}}
23077 ;; @r{all nnml groups, and all nnimap groups except}
23078 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} and}
23079 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam}: any spam goes to nnimap training,}
23080 ;; @r{because it must have been detected manually}
23082 ((spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23084 ;; @r{all @acronym{NNTP} groups}
23085 ;; @r{autodetect spam with the blacklist and ham with the BBDB}
23086 ((spam-autodetect-methods spam-use-blacklist spam-use-BBDB)
23087 ;; @r{send all spam to the training group}
23088 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train"))
23090 ;; @r{only some @acronym{NNTP} groups, where I want to autodetect spam}
23091 ((spam-autodetect . t))
23093 ;; @r{my nnimap @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:spam} group}
23095 ;; @r{this is a spam group}
23096 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam)
23098 ;; @r{any spam (which happens when I enter for all unseen messages,}
23099 ;; @r{because of the @code{gnus-spam-newsgroup-contents} setting above), goes to}
23100 ;; @r{@samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train} unless I mark it as ham}
23102 (spam-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:train")
23104 ;; @r{any ham goes to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail} folder, but}
23105 ;; @r{also to my @samp{nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham} folder for training}
23107 (ham-process-destination "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:mail"
23108 "nnimap+mail.lifelogs.com:trainham")
23109 ;; @r{in this group, only @samp{!} marks are ham}
23111 (gnus-ticked-mark))
23112 ;; @r{remembers senders in the blacklist on the way out---this is}
23113 ;; @r{definitely not needed, it just makes me feel better}
23114 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist)))
23116 ;; @r{Later, on the @acronym{IMAP} server I use the @samp{train} group for training}
23117 ;; @r{SpamAssassin to recognize spam, and the @samp{trainham} group fora}
23118 ;; @r{recognizing ham---but Gnus has nothing to do with it.}
23122 @subsubheading Using @file{spam.el} on an IMAP server with a statistical filter on the server
23123 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23125 My provider has set up bogofilter (in combination with @acronym{DCC}) on
23126 the mail server (@acronym{IMAP}). Recognized spam goes to
23127 @samp{spam.detected}, the rest goes through the normal filter rules,
23128 i.e. to @samp{some.folder} or to @samp{INBOX}. Training on false
23129 positives or negatives is done by copying or moving the article to
23130 @samp{training.ham} or @samp{training.spam} respectively. A cron job on
23131 the server feeds those to bogofilter with the suitable ham or spam
23132 options and deletes them from the @samp{training.ham} and
23133 @samp{training.spam} folders.
23135 With the following entries in @code{gnus-parameters}, @code{spam.el}
23136 does most of the job for me:
23139 ("nnimap:spam\\.detected"
23140 (gnus-article-sort-functions '(gnus-article-sort-by-chars))
23141 (ham-process-destination "nnimap:INBOX" "nnimap:training.ham")
23142 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-spam))
23143 ("nnimap:\\(INBOX\\|other-folders\\)"
23144 (spam-process-destination . "nnimap:training.spam")
23145 (spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham))
23150 @item @b{The Spam folder:}
23152 In the folder @samp{spam.detected}, I have to check for false positives
23153 (i.e. legitimate mails, that were wrongly judged as spam by
23154 bogofilter or DCC).
23156 Because of the @code{gnus-group-spam-classification-spam} entry, all
23157 messages are marked as spam (with @code{$}). When I find a false
23158 positive, I mark the message with some other ham mark (@code{ham-marks},
23159 @ref{Spam ELisp Package Global Variables}). On group exit, those
23160 messages are copied to both groups, @samp{INBOX} (where I want to have
23161 the article) and @samp{training.ham} (for training bogofilter) and
23162 deleted from the @samp{spam.detected} folder.
23164 The @code{gnus-article-sort-by-chars} entry simplifies detection of
23165 false positives for me. I receive lots of worms (sweN, @dots{}), that all
23166 have a similar size. Grouping them by size (i.e. chars) makes finding
23167 other false positives easier. (Of course worms aren't @i{spam}
23168 (@acronym{UCE}, @acronym{UBE}) strictly speaking. Anyhow, bogofilter is
23169 an excellent tool for filtering those unwanted mails for me.)
23171 @item @b{Ham folders:}
23173 In my ham folders, I just hit @kbd{S x}
23174 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) whenever I see an unrecognized spam
23175 mail (false negative). On group exit, those messages are moved to
23176 @samp{training.ham}.
23179 @subsubheading Reporting spam articles in Gmane groups with @code{spam-report.el}
23181 From Reiner Steib <reiner.steib@@gmx.de>.
23183 With following entry in @code{gnus-parameters}, @kbd{S x}
23184 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-spam}) marks articles in @code{gmane.*}
23185 groups as spam and reports the to Gmane at group exit:
23189 (spam-process (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane)))
23192 Additionally, I use @code{(setq spam-report-gmane-use-article-number nil)}
23193 because I don't read the groups directly from news.gmane.org, but
23194 through my local news server (leafnode). I.e. the article numbers are
23195 not the same as on news.gmane.org, thus @code{spam-report.el} has to check
23196 the @code{X-Report-Spam} header to find the correct number.
23198 @node Blacklists and Whitelists
23199 @subsubsection Blacklists and Whitelists
23200 @cindex spam filtering
23201 @cindex whitelists, spam filtering
23202 @cindex blacklists, spam filtering
23205 @defvar spam-use-blacklist
23207 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use blacklists when
23208 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are in the blacklist
23209 will be sent to the @code{spam-split-group}. This is an explicit
23210 filter, meaning that it acts only on mail senders @emph{declared} to
23215 @defvar spam-use-whitelist
23217 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists when
23218 splitting incoming mail. Messages whose senders are not in the
23219 whitelist will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23220 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the whitelist, their
23221 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23225 @defvar spam-use-whitelist-exclusive
23227 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use whitelists as an
23228 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23229 unless the sender is in the whitelist. Use with care.
23233 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist
23235 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23236 customizing the group parameters or the
23237 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23238 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23239 spam-marked articles will be added to the blacklist.
23243 Instead of the obsolete
23244 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blacklist}, it is recommended
23245 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-blacklist)}. Everything will work
23246 the same way, we promise.
23250 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist
23252 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23253 customizing the group parameters or the
23254 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23255 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23256 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23261 Instead of the obsolete
23262 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-whitelist}, it is recommended
23263 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-whitelist)}. Everything will work
23264 the same way, we promise.
23268 Blacklists are lists of regular expressions matching addresses you
23269 consider to be spam senders. For instance, to block mail from any
23270 sender at @samp{vmadmin.com}, you can put @samp{vmadmin.com} in your
23271 blacklist. You start out with an empty blacklist. Blacklist entries
23272 use the Emacs regular expression syntax.
23274 Conversely, whitelists tell Gnus what addresses are considered
23275 legitimate. All messages from whitelisted addresses are considered
23276 non-spam. Also see @ref{BBDB Whitelists}. Whitelist entries use the
23277 Emacs regular expression syntax.
23279 The blacklist and whitelist file locations can be customized with the
23280 @code{spam-directory} variable (@file{~/News/spam} by default), or
23281 the @code{spam-whitelist} and @code{spam-blacklist} variables
23282 directly. The whitelist and blacklist files will by default be in the
23283 @code{spam-directory} directory, named @file{whitelist} and
23284 @file{blacklist} respectively.
23286 @node BBDB Whitelists
23287 @subsubsection BBDB Whitelists
23288 @cindex spam filtering
23289 @cindex BBDB whitelists, spam filtering
23290 @cindex BBDB, spam filtering
23293 @defvar spam-use-BBDB
23295 Analogous to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23296 Whitelists}), but uses the BBDB as the source of whitelisted
23297 addresses, without regular expressions. You must have the BBDB loaded
23298 for @code{spam-use-BBDB} to work properly. Messages whose senders are
23299 not in the BBDB will be sent to the next spam-split rule. This is an
23300 explicit filter, meaning that unless someone is in the BBDB, their
23301 messages are not assumed to be spam or ham.
23305 @defvar spam-use-BBDB-exclusive
23307 Set this variable to @code{t} if you want to use the BBDB as an
23308 implicit filter, meaning that every message will be considered spam
23309 unless the sender is in the BBDB. Use with care. Only sender
23310 addresses in the BBDB will be allowed through; all others will be
23311 classified as spammers.
23315 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB
23317 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23318 customizing the group parameters or the
23319 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23320 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the senders of
23321 ham-marked articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the
23326 Instead of the obsolete
23327 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-BBDB}, it is recommended
23328 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-BBDB)}. Everything will work
23329 the same way, we promise.
23333 @node Gmane Spam Reporting
23334 @subsubsection Gmane Spam Reporting
23335 @cindex spam reporting
23336 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23337 @cindex Gmane, spam reporting
23340 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane
23342 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23343 customizing the group parameters or the
23344 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23345 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23346 articles groups will be reported to the Gmane administrators via a
23349 Gmane can be found at @uref{http://gmane.org}.
23353 Instead of the obsolete
23354 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-report-gmane}, it is recommended
23355 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-gmane)}. Everything will work the
23356 same way, we promise.
23360 @defvar spam-report-gmane-use-article-number
23362 This variable is @code{t} by default. Set it to @code{nil} if you are
23363 running your own news server, for instance, and the local article
23364 numbers don't correspond to the Gmane article numbers. When
23365 @code{spam-report-gmane-use-article-number} is @code{nil},
23366 @code{spam-report.el} will use the @code{X-Report-Spam} header that
23371 @node Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23372 @subsubsection Anti-spam Hashcash Payments
23373 @cindex spam filtering
23374 @cindex hashcash, spam filtering
23377 @defvar spam-use-hashcash
23379 Similar to @code{spam-use-whitelist} (@pxref{Blacklists and
23380 Whitelists}), but uses hashcash tokens for whitelisting messages
23381 instead of the sender address. You must have the @code{hashcash.el}
23382 package loaded for @code{spam-use-hashcash} to work properly.
23383 Messages without a hashcash payment token will be sent to the next
23384 spam-split rule. This is an explicit filter, meaning that unless a
23385 hashcash token is found, the messages are not assumed to be spam or
23391 @subsubsection Blackholes
23392 @cindex spam filtering
23393 @cindex blackholes, spam filtering
23396 @defvar spam-use-blackholes
23398 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus consult the
23399 blackhole-type distributed spam processing systems (DCC, for instance)
23400 when you set this option. The variable @code{spam-blackhole-servers}
23401 holds the list of blackhole servers Gnus will consult. The current
23402 list is fairly comprehensive, but make sure to let us know if it
23403 contains outdated servers.
23405 The blackhole check uses the @code{dig.el} package, but you can tell
23406 @file{spam.el} to use @code{dns.el} instead for better performance if
23407 you set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil}. It is not recommended at
23408 this time to set @code{spam-use-dig} to @code{nil} despite the
23409 possible performance improvements, because some users may be unable to
23410 use it, but you can try it and see if it works for you.
23414 @defvar spam-blackhole-servers
23416 The list of servers to consult for blackhole checks.
23420 @defvar spam-blackhole-good-server-regex
23422 A regular expression for IPs that should not be checked against the
23423 blackhole server list. When set to @code{nil}, it has no effect.
23427 @defvar spam-use-dig
23429 Use the @code{dig.el} package instead of the @code{dns.el} package.
23430 The default setting of @code{t} is recommended.
23434 Blackhole checks are done only on incoming mail. There is no spam or
23435 ham processor for blackholes.
23437 @node Regular Expressions Header Matching
23438 @subsubsection Regular Expressions Header Matching
23439 @cindex spam filtering
23440 @cindex regular expressions header matching, spam filtering
23443 @defvar spam-use-regex-headers
23445 This option is disabled by default. You can let Gnus check the
23446 message headers against lists of regular expressions when you set this
23447 option. The variables @code{spam-regex-headers-spam} and
23448 @code{spam-regex-headers-ham} hold the list of regular expressions.
23449 Gnus will check against the message headers to determine if the
23450 message is spam or ham, respectively.
23454 @defvar spam-regex-headers-spam
23456 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23457 the message, positively identify it as spam.
23461 @defvar spam-regex-headers-ham
23463 The list of regular expressions that, when matched in the headers of
23464 the message, positively identify it as ham.
23468 Regular expression header checks are done only on incoming mail.
23469 There is no specific spam or ham processor for regular expressions.
23472 @subsubsection Bogofilter
23473 @cindex spam filtering
23474 @cindex bogofilter, spam filtering
23477 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter
23479 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23482 With a minimum of care for associating the @samp{$} mark for spam
23483 articles only, Bogofilter training all gets fairly automatic. You
23484 should do this until you get a few hundreds of articles in each
23485 category, spam or not. The command @kbd{S t} in summary mode, either
23486 for debugging or for curiosity, shows the @emph{spamicity} score of
23487 the current article (between 0.0 and 1.0).
23489 Bogofilter determines if a message is spam based on a specific
23490 threshold. That threshold can be customized, consult the Bogofilter
23493 If the @code{bogofilter} executable is not in your path, Bogofilter
23494 processing will be turned off.
23496 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}.
23500 @defvar spam-use-bogofilter-headers
23502 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use Eric Raymond's
23503 speedy Bogofilter, looking only at the message headers. It works
23504 similarly to @code{spam-use-bogofilter}, but the @code{X-Bogosity} header
23505 must be in the message already. Normally you would do this with a
23506 procmail recipe or something similar; consult the Bogofilter
23507 installation documents for details.
23509 You should not enable this if you use @code{spam-use-bogofilter}.
23513 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter
23514 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23515 customizing the group parameters or the
23516 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23517 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles
23518 will be added to the Bogofilter spam database.
23522 Instead of the obsolete
23523 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23524 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23525 the same way, we promise.
23528 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter
23529 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23530 customizing the group parameters or the
23531 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23532 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23533 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the Bogofilter database
23534 of non-spam messages.
23538 Instead of the obsolete
23539 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-bogofilter}, it is recommended
23540 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-bogofilter)}. Everything will work
23541 the same way, we promise.
23544 @defvar spam-bogofilter-database-directory
23546 This is the directory where Bogofilter will store its databases. It
23547 is not specified by default, so Bogofilter will use its own default
23548 database directory.
23552 The Bogofilter mail classifier is similar to @command{ifile} in intent and
23553 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23554 @code{spam-use-bogofilter} and @code{spam-use-bogofilter-headers}
23555 variables to indicate to spam-split that Bogofilter should either be
23556 used, or has already been used on the article. The 0.9.2.1 version of
23557 Bogofilter was used to test this functionality.
23559 @node SpamAssassin backend
23560 @subsubsection SpamAssassin backend
23561 @cindex spam filtering
23562 @cindex spamassassin, spam filtering
23565 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin
23567 Set this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use SpamAssassin.
23569 SpamAssassin assigns a score to each article based on a set of rules
23570 and tests, including a Bayesian filter. The Bayesian filter can be
23571 trained by associating the @samp{$} mark for spam articles. The
23572 spam score can be viewed by using the command @kbd{S t} in summary
23575 If you set this variable, each article will be processed by
23576 SpamAssassin when @code{spam-split} is called. If your mail is
23577 preprocessed by SpamAssassin, and you want to just use the
23578 SpamAssassin headers, set @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}
23581 You should not enable this is you use
23582 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers}.
23586 @defvar spam-use-spamassassin-headers
23588 Set this variable if your mail is preprocessed by SpamAssassin and
23589 want @code{spam-split} to split based on the SpamAssassin headers.
23591 You should not enable this is you use @code{spam-use-spamassassin}.
23595 @defvar spam-spamassassin-path
23597 This variable points to the SpamAssassin executable. If you have
23598 @code{spamd} running, you can set this variable to the @code{spamc}
23599 executable for faster processing. See the SpamAssassin documentation
23600 for more information on @code{spamd}/@code{spamc}.
23604 SpamAssassin is a powerful and flexible spam filter that uses a wide
23605 variety of tests to identify spam. A ham and a spam processors are
23606 provided, plus the @code{spam-use-spamassassin} and
23607 @code{spam-use-spamassassin-headers} variables to indicate to
23608 spam-split that SpamAssassin should be either used, or has already
23609 been used on the article. The 2.63 version of SpamAssassin was used
23610 to test this functionality.
23612 @node ifile spam filtering
23613 @subsubsection ifile spam filtering
23614 @cindex spam filtering
23615 @cindex ifile, spam filtering
23618 @defvar spam-use-ifile
23620 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use @command{ifile}, a
23621 statistical analyzer similar to Bogofilter.
23625 @defvar spam-ifile-all-categories
23627 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-use-ifile} to give you all
23628 the ifile categories, not just spam/non-spam. If you use this, make
23629 sure you train ifile as described in its documentation.
23633 @defvar spam-ifile-spam-category
23635 This is the category of spam messages as far as ifile is concerned.
23636 The actual string used is irrelevant, but you probably want to leave
23637 the default value of @samp{spam}.
23640 @defvar spam-ifile-database-path
23642 This is the filename for the ifile database. It is not specified by
23643 default, so ifile will use its own default database name.
23647 The ifile mail classifier is similar to Bogofilter in intent and
23648 purpose. A ham and a spam processor are provided, plus the
23649 @code{spam-use-ifile} variable to indicate to spam-split that ifile
23650 should be used. The 1.2.1 version of ifile was used to test this
23653 @node spam-stat spam filtering
23654 @subsubsection spam-stat spam filtering
23655 @cindex spam filtering
23656 @cindex spam-stat, spam filtering
23660 @xref{Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat}.
23662 @defvar spam-use-stat
23664 Enable this variable if you want @code{spam-split} to use
23665 spam-stat.el, an Emacs Lisp statistical analyzer.
23669 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat
23670 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23671 customizing the group parameters or the
23672 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23673 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the spam-marked
23674 articles will be added to the spam-stat database of spam messages.
23678 Instead of the obsolete
23679 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23680 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23681 the same way, we promise.
23684 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat
23685 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23686 customizing the group parameters or the
23687 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is
23688 added to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked
23689 articles in @emph{ham} groups will be added to the spam-stat database
23690 of non-spam messages.
23694 Instead of the obsolete
23695 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-stat}, it is recommended
23696 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-stat)}. Everything will work
23697 the same way, we promise.
23700 This enables @file{spam.el} to cooperate with @file{spam-stat.el}.
23701 @file{spam-stat.el} provides an internal (Lisp-only) spam database,
23702 which unlike ifile or Bogofilter does not require external programs.
23703 A spam and a ham processor, and the @code{spam-use-stat} variable for
23704 @code{spam-split} are provided.
23707 @subsubsection Using SpamOracle with Gnus
23708 @cindex spam filtering
23712 An easy way to filter out spam is to use SpamOracle. SpamOracle is an
23713 statistical mail filtering tool written by Xavier Leroy and needs to be
23714 installed separately.
23716 There are several ways to use SpamOracle with Gnus. In all cases, your
23717 mail is piped through SpamOracle in its @emph{mark} mode. SpamOracle will
23718 then enter an @samp{X-Spam} header indicating whether it regards the
23719 mail as a spam mail or not.
23721 One possibility is to run SpamOracle as a @code{:prescript} from the
23722 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}, (@pxref{SpamAssassin}). This method has
23723 the advantage that the user can see the @emph{X-Spam} headers.
23725 The easiest method is to make @file{spam.el} (@pxref{Filtering Spam
23726 Using The Spam ELisp Package}) call SpamOracle.
23728 @vindex spam-use-spamoracle
23729 To enable SpamOracle usage by @file{spam.el}, set the variable
23730 @code{spam-use-spamoracle} to @code{t} and configure the
23731 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} or @code{nnimap-split-fancy} as described in
23732 the section @xref{Filtering Spam Using The Spam ELisp Package}. In
23733 this example the @samp{INBOX} of an nnimap server is filtered using
23734 SpamOracle. Mails recognized as spam mails will be moved to
23735 @code{spam-split-group}, @samp{Junk} in this case. Ham messages stay
23739 (setq spam-use-spamoracle t
23740 spam-split-group "Junk"
23741 nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX")
23742 nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
23743 nnimap-split-fancy '(| (: spam-split) "INBOX"))
23746 @defvar spam-use-spamoracle
23747 Set to @code{t} if you want Gnus to enable spam filtering using
23751 @defvar spam-spamoracle-binary
23752 Gnus uses the SpamOracle binary called @file{spamoracle} found in the
23753 user's PATH. Using the variable @code{spam-spamoracle-binary}, this
23757 @defvar spam-spamoracle-database
23758 By default, SpamOracle uses the file @file{~/.spamoracle.db} as a database to
23759 store its analyses. This is controlled by the variable
23760 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} which defaults to @code{nil}. That means
23761 the default SpamOracle database will be used. In case you want your
23762 database to live somewhere special, set
23763 @code{spam-spamoracle-database} to this path.
23766 SpamOracle employs a statistical algorithm to determine whether a
23767 message is spam or ham. In order to get good results, meaning few
23768 false hits or misses, SpamOracle needs training. SpamOracle learns the
23769 characteristics of your spam mails. Using the @emph{add} mode
23770 (training mode) one has to feed good (ham) and spam mails to
23771 SpamOracle. This can be done by pressing @kbd{|} in the Summary buffer
23772 and pipe the mail to a SpamOracle process or using @file{spam.el}'s
23773 spam- and ham-processors, which is much more convenient. For a
23774 detailed description of spam- and ham-processors, @xref{Filtering Spam
23775 Using The Spam ELisp Package}.
23777 @defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle
23778 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23779 customizing the group parameter or the
23780 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23781 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, spam-marked articles will be
23782 sent to SpamOracle as spam samples.
23786 Instead of the obsolete
23787 @code{gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23788 that you use @code{'(spam spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23789 the same way, we promise.
23792 @defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle
23793 Add this symbol to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter by
23794 customizing the group parameter or the
23795 @code{gnus-spam-process-newsgroups} variable. When this symbol is added
23796 to a group's @code{spam-process} parameter, the ham-marked articles in
23797 @emph{ham} groups will be sent to the SpamOracle as samples of ham
23802 Instead of the obsolete
23803 @code{gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-spamoracle}, it is recommended
23804 that you use @code{'(ham spam-use-spamoracle)}. Everything will work
23805 the same way, we promise.
23808 @emph{Example:} These are the Group Parameters of a group that has been
23809 classified as a ham group, meaning that it should only contain ham
23812 ((spam-contents gnus-group-spam-classification-ham)
23813 (spam-process ((ham spam-use-spamoracle)
23814 (spam spam-use-spamoracle))))
23816 For this group the @code{spam-use-spamoracle} is installed for both
23817 ham and spam processing. If the group contains spam message
23818 (e.g. because SpamOracle has not had enough sample messages yet) and
23819 the user marks some messages as spam messages, these messages will be
23820 processed by SpamOracle. The processor sends the messages to
23821 SpamOracle as new samples for spam.
23823 @node Extending the Spam ELisp package
23824 @subsubsection Extending the Spam ELisp package
23825 @cindex spam filtering
23826 @cindex spam elisp package, extending
23827 @cindex extending the spam elisp package
23829 Say you want to add a new back end called blackbox. For filtering
23830 incoming mail, provide the following:
23838 (defvar spam-use-blackbox nil
23839 "True if blackbox should be used.")
23844 (spam-use-blackbox . spam-check-blackbox)
23846 to @code{spam-list-of-checks}.
23850 (gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox ham spam-use-blackbox)
23851 (gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox spam spam-use-blackbox)
23854 to @code{spam-list-of-processors}.
23858 (spam-use-blackbox spam-blackbox-register-routine
23860 spam-blackbox-unregister-routine
23864 to @code{spam-registration-functions}. Write the register/unregister
23865 routines using the bogofilter register/unregister routines as a
23866 start, or other restister/unregister routines more appropriate to
23872 Write the @code{spam-check-blackbox} function. It should return
23873 @samp{nil} or @code{spam-split-group}, observing the other
23874 conventions. See the existing @code{spam-check-*} functions for
23875 examples of what you can do, and stick to the template unless you
23876 fully understand the reasons why you aren't.
23878 Make sure to add @code{spam-use-blackbox} to
23879 @code{spam-list-of-statistical-checks} if Blackbox is a statistical
23880 mail analyzer that needs the full message body to operate.
23884 For processing spam and ham messages, provide the following:
23891 Note you don't have to provide a spam or a ham processor. Only
23892 provide them if Blackbox supports spam or ham processing.
23894 Also, ham and spam processors are being phased out as single
23895 variables. Instead the form @code{'(spam spam-use-blackbox)} or
23896 @code{'(ham spam-use-blackbox)} is favored. For now, spam/ham
23897 processor variables are still around but they won't be for long.
23900 (defvar gnus-group-spam-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-spam"
23901 "The Blackbox summary exit spam processor.
23902 Only applicable to spam groups.")
23904 (defvar gnus-group-ham-exit-processor-blackbox "blackbox-ham"
23905 "The whitelist summary exit ham processor.
23906 Only applicable to non-spam (unclassified and ham) groups.")
23915 (const :tag "Spam: Blackbox" (spam spam-use-blackbox))
23916 (const :tag "Ham: Blackbox" (ham spam-use-blackbox))
23918 to the @code{spam-process} group parameter in @code{gnus.el}. Make
23919 sure you do it twice, once for the parameter and once for the
23920 variable customization.
23924 (variable-item spam-use-blackbox)
23926 to the @code{spam-autodetect-methods} group parameter in
23932 @node Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23933 @subsection Filtering Spam Using Statistics with spam-stat
23934 @cindex Paul Graham
23935 @cindex Graham, Paul
23936 @cindex naive Bayesian spam filtering
23937 @cindex Bayesian spam filtering, naive
23938 @cindex spam filtering, naive Bayesian
23940 Paul Graham has written an excellent essay about spam filtering using
23941 statistics: @uref{http://www.paulgraham.com/spam.html,A Plan for
23942 Spam}. In it he describes the inherent deficiency of rule-based
23943 filtering as used by SpamAssassin, for example: Somebody has to write
23944 the rules, and everybody else has to install these rules. You are
23945 always late. It would be much better, he argues, to filter mail based
23946 on whether it somehow resembles spam or non-spam. One way to measure
23947 this is word distribution. He then goes on to describe a solution
23948 that checks whether a new mail resembles any of your other spam mails
23951 The basic idea is this: Create a two collections of your mail, one
23952 with spam, one with non-spam. Count how often each word appears in
23953 either collection, weight this by the total number of mails in the
23954 collections, and store this information in a dictionary. For every
23955 word in a new mail, determine its probability to belong to a spam or a
23956 non-spam mail. Use the 15 most conspicuous words, compute the total
23957 probability of the mail being spam. If this probability is higher
23958 than a certain threshold, the mail is considered to be spam.
23960 Gnus supports this kind of filtering. But it needs some setting up.
23961 First, you need two collections of your mail, one with spam, one with
23962 non-spam. Then you need to create a dictionary using these two
23963 collections, and save it. And last but not least, you need to use
23964 this dictionary in your fancy mail splitting rules.
23967 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
23968 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
23969 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
23972 @node Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23973 @subsubsection Creating a spam-stat dictionary
23975 Before you can begin to filter spam based on statistics, you must
23976 create these statistics based on two mail collections, one with spam,
23977 one with non-spam. These statistics are then stored in a dictionary
23978 for later use. In order for these statistics to be meaningful, you
23979 need several hundred emails in both collections.
23981 Gnus currently supports only the nnml back end for automated dictionary
23982 creation. The nnml back end stores all mails in a directory, one file
23983 per mail. Use the following:
23985 @defun spam-stat-process-spam-directory
23986 Create spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every file
23987 is treated as one spam mail.
23990 @defun spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory
23991 Create non-spam statistics for every file in this directory. Every
23992 file is treated as one non-spam mail.
23995 Usually you would call @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory} on a
23996 directory such as @file{~/Mail/mail/spam} (this usually corresponds
23997 the the group @samp{nnml:mail.spam}), and you would call
23998 @code{spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory} on a directory such as
23999 @file{~/Mail/mail/misc} (this usually corresponds the the group
24000 @samp{nnml:mail.misc}).
24002 When you are using @acronym{IMAP}, you won't have the mails available
24003 locally, so that will not work. One solution is to use the Gnus Agent
24004 to cache the articles. Then you can use directories such as
24005 @file{"~/News/agent/nnimap/mail.yourisp.com/personal_spam"} for
24006 @code{spam-stat-process-spam-directory}. @xref{Agent as Cache}.
24009 This variable holds the hash-table with all the statistics---the
24010 dictionary we have been talking about. For every word in either
24011 collection, this hash-table stores a vector describing how often the
24012 word appeared in spam and often it appeared in non-spam mails.
24015 If you want to regenerate the statistics from scratch, you need to
24016 reset the dictionary.
24018 @defun spam-stat-reset
24019 Reset the @code{spam-stat} hash-table, deleting all the statistics.
24022 When you are done, you must save the dictionary. The dictionary may
24023 be rather large. If you will not update the dictionary incrementally
24024 (instead, you will recreate it once a month, for example), then you
24025 can reduce the size of the dictionary by deleting all words that did
24026 not appear often enough or that do not clearly belong to only spam or
24027 only non-spam mails.
24029 @defun spam-stat-reduce-size
24030 Reduce the size of the dictionary. Use this only if you do not want
24031 to update the dictionary incrementally.
24034 @defun spam-stat-save
24035 Save the dictionary.
24038 @defvar spam-stat-file
24039 The filename used to store the dictionary. This defaults to
24040 @file{~/.spam-stat.el}.
24043 @node Splitting mail using spam-stat
24044 @subsubsection Splitting mail using spam-stat
24046 In order to use @code{spam-stat} to split your mail, you need to add the
24047 following to your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24050 (require 'spam-stat)
24054 This will load the necessary Gnus code, and the dictionary you
24057 Next, you need to adapt your fancy splitting rules: You need to
24058 determine how to use @code{spam-stat}. The following examples are for
24059 the nnml back end. Using the nnimap back end works just as well. Just
24060 use @code{nnimap-split-fancy} instead of @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
24062 In the simplest case, you only have two groups, @samp{mail.misc} and
24063 @samp{mail.spam}. The following expression says that mail is either
24064 spam or it should go into @samp{mail.misc}. If it is spam, then
24065 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will return @samp{mail.spam}.
24068 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24069 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24073 @defvar spam-stat-split-fancy-spam-group
24074 The group to use for spam. Default is @samp{mail.spam}.
24077 If you also filter mail with specific subjects into other groups, use
24078 the following expression. Only mails not matching the regular
24079 expression are considered potential spam.
24082 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24083 `(| ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24084 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24088 If you want to filter for spam first, then you must be careful when
24089 creating the dictionary. Note that @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} must
24090 consider both mails in @samp{mail.emacs} and in @samp{mail.misc} as
24091 non-spam, therefore both should be in your collection of non-spam
24092 mails, when creating the dictionary!
24095 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24096 `(| (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24097 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24101 You can combine this with traditional filtering. Here, we move all
24102 HTML-only mails into the @samp{mail.spam.filtered} group. Note that since
24103 @code{spam-stat-split-fancy} will never see them, the mails in
24104 @samp{mail.spam.filtered} should be neither in your collection of spam mails,
24105 nor in your collection of non-spam mails, when creating the
24109 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
24110 `(| ("Content-Type" "text/html" "mail.spam.filtered")
24111 (: spam-stat-split-fancy)
24112 ("Subject" "\\bspam-stat\\b" "mail.emacs")
24117 @node Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24118 @subsubsection Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary
24120 The main interface to using @code{spam-stat}, are the following functions:
24122 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-spam
24123 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new spam mail.
24124 Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24127 @defun spam-stat-buffer-is-no-spam
24128 Called in a buffer, that buffer is considered to be a new non-spam
24129 mail. Use this for new mail that has not been processed before.
24132 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-spam
24133 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be normal
24134 mail but spam. Use this to change the status of a mail that has
24135 already been processed as non-spam.
24138 @defun spam-stat-buffer-change-to-non-spam
24139 Called in a buffer, that buffer is no longer considered to be spam but
24140 normal mail. Use this to change the status of a mail that has already
24141 been processed as spam.
24144 @defun spam-stat-save
24145 Save the hash table to the file. The filename used is stored in the
24146 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24149 @defun spam-stat-load
24150 Load the hash table from a file. The filename used is stored in the
24151 variable @code{spam-stat-file}.
24154 @defun spam-stat-score-word
24155 Return the spam score for a word.
24158 @defun spam-stat-score-buffer
24159 Return the spam score for a buffer.
24162 @defun spam-stat-split-fancy
24163 Use this function for fancy mail splitting. Add the rule @samp{(:
24164 spam-stat-split-fancy)} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
24167 Make sure you load the dictionary before using it. This requires the
24168 following in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
24171 (require 'spam-stat)
24175 Typical test will involve calls to the following functions:
24178 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24179 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24180 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24181 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24182 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24183 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24184 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24185 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24186 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24187 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24188 File size: (nth 7 (file-attributes spam-stat-file))
24189 Number of words: (hash-table-count spam-stat)
24190 Test spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24191 Test non-spam: (spam-stat-test-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24194 Here is how you would create your dictionary:
24197 Reset: (setq spam-stat (make-hash-table :test 'equal))
24198 Learn spam: (spam-stat-process-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/spam")
24199 Learn non-spam: (spam-stat-process-non-spam-directory "~/Mail/mail/misc")
24200 Repeat for any other non-spam group you need...
24201 Reduce table size: (spam-stat-reduce-size)
24202 Save table: (spam-stat-save)
24206 @section Interaction with other modes
24211 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} provided some useful functions for dired
24212 buffers. It is enabled with
24214 (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'turn-on-gnus-dired-mode)
24219 @findex gnus-dired-attach
24220 Send dired's marked files as an attachment (@code{gnus-dired-attach}).
24221 You will be prompted for a message buffer.
24224 @findex gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap
24225 Visit a file according to the appropriate mailcap entry
24226 (@code{gnus-dired-find-file-mailcap}). With prefix, open file in a new
24230 @findex gnus-dired-print
24231 Print file according to the mailcap entry (@code{gnus-dired-print}). If
24232 there is no print command, print in a PostScript image.
24235 @node Various Various
24236 @section Various Various
24242 @item gnus-home-directory
24243 @vindex gnus-home-directory
24244 All Gnus file and directory variables will be initialized from this
24245 variable, which defaults to @file{~/}.
24247 @item gnus-directory
24248 @vindex gnus-directory
24249 Most Gnus storage file and directory variables will be initialized from
24250 this variable, which defaults to the @env{SAVEDIR} environment
24251 variable, or @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
24253 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{~/.gnus.el} file is read.
24254 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
24255 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
24256 @file{~/.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
24258 @item gnus-default-directory
24259 @vindex gnus-default-directory
24260 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
24261 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
24262 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
24263 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
24264 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
24265 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
24268 @vindex gnus-verbose
24269 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
24270 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
24271 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
24272 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
24273 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
24275 @item gnus-verbose-backends
24276 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
24277 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
24278 to the Gnus back ends instead of Gnus proper.
24280 @item nnheader-max-head-length
24281 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
24282 When the back ends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
24283 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
24284 the absolute max length the back ends will try to read before giving up
24285 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
24286 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
24287 @code{t}, the back ends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
24288 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
24289 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
24291 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
24292 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
24293 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
24294 read when doing the operation described above.
24296 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24297 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24299 @cindex invalid characters in file names
24300 @cindex characters in file names
24301 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
24302 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
24303 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
24307 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
24312 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
24313 Windows (phooey) systems.
24315 @item gnus-hidden-properties
24316 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
24317 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
24318 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
24319 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
24321 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
24322 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
24323 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
24324 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
24325 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
24327 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
24328 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
24329 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
24331 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24332 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
24334 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
24335 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
24336 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
24337 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
24340 @acronym{IMAP} users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
24348 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
24349 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
24351 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
24353 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
24359 Not because of victories @*
24362 but for the common sunshine,@*
24364 the largess of the spring.
24368 but for the day's work done@*
24369 as well as I was able;@*
24370 not for a seat upon the dais@*
24371 but at the common table.@*
24376 @chapter Appendices
24379 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
24380 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
24381 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
24382 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
24383 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
24384 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
24385 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
24386 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
24387 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
24394 @cindex installing under XEmacs
24396 XEmacs is distributed as a collection of packages. You should install
24397 whatever packages the Gnus XEmacs package requires. The current
24398 requirements are @samp{gnus}, @samp{mail-lib}, @samp{xemacs-base},
24399 @samp{eterm}, @samp{sh-script}, @samp{net-utils}, @samp{os-utils},
24400 @samp{dired}, @samp{mh-e}, @samp{sieve}, @samp{ps-print}, @samp{w3},
24401 @samp{pgg}, @samp{mailcrypt}, @samp{ecrypto}, and @samp{sasl}.
24408 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
24409 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
24411 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
24412 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
24413 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
24414 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
24415 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
24417 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
24418 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
24419 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
24420 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
24421 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
24422 appropriate name, don't you think?)
24424 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
24425 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
24426 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
24427 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
24430 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
24431 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
24432 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
24433 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
24434 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
24435 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
24436 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
24437 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
24438 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
24442 @node Gnus Versions
24443 @subsection Gnus Versions
24445 @cindex September Gnus
24447 @cindex Quassia Gnus
24448 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
24451 @cindex Gnus versions
24453 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
24454 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
24455 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
24457 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
24458 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
24460 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
24461 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
24463 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
24464 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
24466 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
24467 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
24470 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
24472 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
24473 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
24474 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
24475 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
24476 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
24477 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
24480 @node Other Gnus Versions
24481 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
24484 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
24485 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
24486 Japan. It's based on a library called @acronym{SEMI}, which provides
24487 @acronym{MIME} capabilities.
24489 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
24490 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
24491 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
24492 @acronym{MIME} and multilingualization things, especially important for
24499 What's the point of Gnus?
24501 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
24502 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
24503 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
24504 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
24505 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
24506 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
24507 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
24508 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
24509 keep track of millions of people who post?
24511 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
24512 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
24513 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
24514 to separate the newsreader from the back ends, Gnus now offers a simple
24515 interface for anybody who wants to write new back ends for fetching mail
24516 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
24517 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
24518 every one of you to explore and invent.
24520 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
24521 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
24524 @node Compatibility
24525 @subsection Compatibility
24527 @cindex compatibility
24528 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
24529 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
24530 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
24535 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
24539 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
24542 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
24545 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
24546 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
24547 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
24548 important variables have their values copied into their global
24549 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
24550 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
24552 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
24553 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
24554 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
24555 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
24556 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
24560 @cindex highlighting
24561 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
24562 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
24563 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
24564 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
24565 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
24566 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
24569 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
24570 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
24571 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
24572 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
24574 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
24575 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
24576 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
24577 to stop doing it the old way.
24579 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
24581 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
24583 @cindex reporting bugs
24585 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
24586 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
24587 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
24589 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
24590 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
24591 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
24592 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
24597 @subsection Conformity
24599 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
24600 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
24608 There are no known breaches of this standard.
24612 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
24614 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
24615 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
24616 We do have some breaches to this one.
24622 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
24623 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
24624 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
24625 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
24626 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
24631 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
24632 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
24633 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
24634 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
24636 @item MIME - RFC 2045-2049 etc
24637 @cindex @acronym{MIME}
24638 All the various @acronym{MIME} RFCs are supported.
24640 @item Disposition Notifications - RFC 2298
24641 Message Mode is able to request notifications from the receiver.
24643 @item PGP - RFC 1991 and RFC 2440
24646 RFC 1991 is the original @acronym{PGP} message specification,
24647 published as an informational RFC. RFC 2440 was the follow-up, now
24648 called Open PGP, and put on the Standards Track. Both document a
24649 non-@acronym{MIME} aware @acronym{PGP} format. Gnus supports both
24650 encoding (signing and encryption) and decoding (verification and
24653 @item PGP/MIME - RFC 2015/3156
24654 RFC 2015 (superseded by 3156 which references RFC 2440 instead of RFC
24655 1991) describes the @acronym{MIME}-wrapping around the RF 1991/2440 format.
24656 Gnus supports both encoding and decoding.
24658 @item S/MIME - RFC 2633
24659 RFC 2633 describes the @acronym{S/MIME} format.
24661 @item IMAP - RFC 1730/2060, RFC 2195, RFC 2086, RFC 2359, RFC 2595, RFC 1731
24662 RFC 1730 is @acronym{IMAP} version 4, updated somewhat by RFC 2060
24663 (@acronym{IMAP} 4 revision 1). RFC 2195 describes CRAM-MD5
24664 authentication for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2086 describes access control
24665 lists (ACLs) for @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 2359 describes a @acronym{IMAP}
24666 protocol enhancement. RFC 2595 describes the proper @acronym{TLS}
24667 integration (STARTTLS) with @acronym{IMAP}. RFC 1731 describes the
24668 GSSAPI/Kerberos4 mechanisms for @acronym{IMAP}.
24672 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
24673 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
24678 @subsection Emacsen
24684 Gnus should work on:
24692 XEmacs 21.4 and up.
24696 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
24697 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
24700 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
24701 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
24702 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
24706 @node Gnus Development
24707 @subsection Gnus Development
24709 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
24710 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
24711 propose changes and new features, post patches and new back ends. This
24712 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
24713 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
24714 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
24715 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
24716 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
24718 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
24719 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
24720 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
24721 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
24722 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
24725 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
24726 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
24727 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
24728 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
24729 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
24731 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
24732 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
24733 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
24734 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
24735 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
24736 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
24737 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
24738 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
24739 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
24740 can't be assumed to do so.
24745 @subsection Contributors
24746 @cindex contributors
24748 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
24749 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
24750 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
24751 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
24752 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
24753 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
24754 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
24755 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
24756 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
24757 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
24759 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for@dots{} oops,
24765 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
24768 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
24769 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @acronym{MIME} and
24770 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
24771 functionality and stuff.
24774 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
24775 well as numerous other things).
24778 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
24781 Joe Reiss---creator of the smiley faces.
24784 Justin Sheehy---the @acronym{FAQ} maintainer.
24787 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
24790 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
24791 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
24794 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
24797 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section.
24800 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
24803 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
24806 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
24809 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
24812 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
24813 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
24816 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
24819 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
24822 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
24825 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
24829 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
24832 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
24835 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
24838 Fran@,{c}ois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
24839 well as autoconf support.
24843 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
24844 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
24846 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
24861 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
24863 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
24867 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
24877 Alexei V. Barantsev,
24892 Massimo Campostrini,
24897 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
24898 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
24902 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
24905 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
24911 Michael Welsh Duggan,
24916 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
24920 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
24928 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
24930 Michelangelo Grigni,
24934 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
24936 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c Hayashi
24938 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
24945 Fran@,{c}ois Felix Ingrand,
24946 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c Ichikawa
24947 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
24949 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
24959 Peter Skov Knudsen,
24960 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
24962 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
24963 Thor Kristoffersen,
24966 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
24984 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
24985 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
24992 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
24997 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
25001 John McClary Prevost,
25007 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
25012 Christian von Roques,
25015 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
25022 Philippe Schnoebelen,
25024 Randal L. Schwartz,
25038 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
25043 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
25063 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
25064 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
25065 (550kB and counting).
25067 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
25070 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
25071 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
25075 @subsection New Features
25076 @cindex new features
25079 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
25080 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
25081 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
25082 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
25083 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
25084 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10.
25085 * No Gnus:: Lars, FIXME!
25088 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
25089 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
25090 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
25093 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
25095 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
25100 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
25101 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
25104 Local spool and several @acronym{NNTP} servers can be used at once
25105 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
25108 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
25111 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
25112 All the mail back ends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
25113 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
25116 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
25117 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
25118 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
25119 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25122 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
25123 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25126 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
25127 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
25128 (@pxref{The Active File}).
25131 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
25132 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
25135 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
25136 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
25137 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25140 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
25141 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
25142 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
25145 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{~/.gnus.el}) to avoid
25146 cluttering up the @file{.emacs} file.
25149 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
25150 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
25153 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
25154 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
25157 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
25158 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25161 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
25162 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
25165 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
25166 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25169 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
25172 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
25173 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
25176 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
25177 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
25180 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
25181 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
25184 Gnus can fetch @acronym{FAQ}s and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
25187 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
25188 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25191 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
25195 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
25199 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
25200 configuration (@pxref{Window Layout}).
25203 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
25209 @node September Gnus
25210 @subsubsection September Gnus
25214 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/september,height=20cm}}
25218 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
25223 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
25224 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
25228 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
25229 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
25233 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
25237 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
25238 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
25241 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
25245 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions.
25248 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
25251 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
25254 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
25258 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
25259 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
25262 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
25266 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
25270 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
25274 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
25278 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
25281 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
25282 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
25285 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
25289 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
25290 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
25293 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
25296 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
25297 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
25298 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
25301 Gnus has a new back end (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
25305 The Gnus cache is much faster.
25308 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
25312 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
25313 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
25316 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
25317 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
25320 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
25321 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
25324 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
25325 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
25326 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
25329 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
25330 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
25333 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
25336 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25339 All mail back ends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
25342 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
25345 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
25346 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
25349 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Window
25353 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
25356 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fseptember,height=5cm}}
25361 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
25364 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
25368 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
25371 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
25375 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
25378 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
25381 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
25382 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
25385 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
25386 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
25390 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
25391 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
25394 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
25398 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
25399 buffer to allow easier treatment.
25402 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
25405 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
25409 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
25413 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
25414 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
25417 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
25421 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
25422 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
25425 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
25426 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25429 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
25433 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
25436 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
25439 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
25445 @subsubsection Red Gnus
25447 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
25451 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/red,height=20cm}}
25458 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
25461 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
25462 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
25465 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
25466 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
25470 Article washing status can be displayed in the
25471 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
25474 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
25477 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
25478 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
25481 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
25485 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
25486 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
25490 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
25491 Server Internals}).
25494 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
25498 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
25501 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
25502 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
25505 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
25506 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
25507 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
25510 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
25511 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25514 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
25515 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
25518 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{C-M-_}
25522 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
25523 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25526 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
25527 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
25530 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
25534 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
25537 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
25541 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
25542 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
25545 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
25546 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
25549 A new command for reading collections of documents
25550 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{C-M-d}
25551 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
25554 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
25558 A new mail-to-news back end makes it possible to post even when the @acronym{NNTP}
25559 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
25562 A new back end for reading searches from Web search engines
25563 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
25564 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
25567 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
25568 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
25572 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
25576 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
25580 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=ps/fred,width=3cm}}
25585 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
25589 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
25593 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
25594 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
25597 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
25603 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
25605 New features in Gnus 5.6:
25610 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
25611 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added.
25612 @xref{Gnus Unplugged}, for the full story.
25615 The @code{nndraft} back end has returned, but works differently than
25616 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
25617 group, which is created automatically.
25620 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
25624 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
25627 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
25628 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
25631 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
25635 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
25638 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
25639 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
25642 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
25645 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. @xref{Symbolic Prefixes}, for
25649 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
25650 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the @file{all.SCORE} file.
25653 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
25654 control over simplification.
25657 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
25660 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
25664 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
25667 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
25670 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
25671 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
25672 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
25675 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
25676 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
25679 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
25683 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
25684 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
25687 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
25688 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @acronym{NNTP} servers.
25691 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
25695 A history of where mails have been split is available.
25698 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
25701 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
25702 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
25705 A new function for citing in Message has been
25706 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
25709 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
25712 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
25716 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
25717 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
25720 The ``lapsed date'' article header can be kept continually
25721 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
25724 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} back end.
25727 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
25731 @node Pterodactyl Gnus
25732 @subsubsection Pterodactyl Gnus
25734 New features in Gnus 5.8:
25739 The mail-fetching functions have changed. See the manual for the
25740 many details. In particular, all procmail fetching variables are gone.
25742 If you used procmail like in
25745 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
25746 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
25747 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/mail/incoming/")
25748 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "\\.in")
25751 this now has changed to
25755 '((directory :path "~/mail/incoming/"
25759 @xref{Mail Source Specifiers}.
25762 Gnus is now a @acronym{MIME}-capable reader. This affects many parts of
25763 Gnus, and adds a slew of new commands. See the manual for details.
25766 Gnus has also been multilingualized. This also affects too
25767 many parts of Gnus to summarize here, and adds many new variables.
25770 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} can now be a function to be
25771 called to position point.
25774 The user can now decide which extra headers should be included in
25775 summary buffers and @acronym{NOV} files.
25778 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} has been removed. Instead, a number
25779 of variables starting with @code{gnus-treat-} have been added.
25782 The Gnus posting styles have been redone again and now works in a
25783 subtly different manner.
25786 New web-based back ends have been added: @code{nnslashdot},
25787 @code{nnwarchive} and @code{nnultimate}. nnweb has been revamped,
25788 again, to keep up with ever-changing layouts.
25791 Gnus can now read @acronym{IMAP} mail via @code{nnimap}.
25796 @subsubsection Oort Gnus
25799 New features in Gnus 5.10:
25804 @kbd{F} (@code{gnus-article-followup-with-original}) and @kbd{R}
25805 (@code{gnus-article-reply-with-original}) only yank the text in the
25806 region if the region is active.
25809 @code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group} can be called interactively,
25813 In draft groups, @kbd{e} is now bound to @code{gnus-draft-edit-message}.
25814 Use @kbd{B w} for @code{gnus-summary-edit-article} instead.
25817 The revised Gnus @acronym{FAQ} is included in the manual,
25818 @xref{Frequently Asked Questions}.
25821 Upgrading from previous (stable) version if you have used Oort.
25823 If you have tried Oort (the unstable Gnus branch leading to this
25824 release) but went back to a stable version, be careful when upgrading to
25825 this version. In particular, you will probably want to remove all
25826 @file{.marks} (nnml) and @file{.mrk} (nnfolder) files, so that flags are
25827 read from your @file{.newsrc.eld} instead of from the
25828 @file{.marks}/@file{.mrk} file where this release store flags. See a
25829 later entry for more information about marks. Note that downgrading
25830 isn't save in general.
25835 More buttons for URLs, mail addresses, Message-IDs, Info links, man
25836 pages and Emacs or Gnus related references. @xref{Article Buttons}. The
25837 variables @code{gnus-button-@var{*}-level} can be used to control the
25838 appearance of all article buttons. @xref{Article Button Levels}.
25843 @code{gnus-dired-minor-mode} (see @ref{Other modes}) installs key
25844 bindings in dired buffers to send a file as an attachment, open a file
25845 using the appropriate mailcap entry, and print a file using the mailcap
25849 Gnus can display RSS newsfeeds as a newsgroup. @xref{RSS}.
25852 Single-part yenc encoded attachments can be decoded.
25857 The picons code has been reimplemented to work in GNU Emacs---some of
25858 the previous options have been removed or renamed.
25860 Picons are small ``personal icons'' representing users, domain and
25861 newsgroups, which can be displayed in the Article buffer.
25865 If the new option @code{gnus-treat-body-boundary} is non-@code{nil}, a
25866 boundary line is drawn at the end of the headers.
25869 Retrieval of charters and control messages
25871 There are new commands for fetching newsgroup charters (@kbd{H c}) and
25872 control messages (@kbd{H C}).
25877 You can delay the sending of a message with @kbd{C-c C-j} in the Message
25878 buffer. The messages are delivered at specified time. This is useful
25879 for sending yourself reminders. @xref{Delayed Articles}.
25882 If @code{auto-compression-mode} is enabled, attachments are automatically
25883 decompressed when activated.
25886 If the new option @code{nnml-use-compressed-files} is non-@code{nil},
25887 the nnml back end allows compressed message files.
25890 Signed article headers (X-PGP-Sig) can be verified with @kbd{W p}.
25893 The Summary Buffer uses an arrow in the fringe to indicate the current
25894 article. Use @code{(setq gnus-summary-display-arrow nil)} to disable it.
25897 Warn about email replies to news
25899 Do you often find yourself replying to news by email by mistake? Then
25900 the new option @code{gnus-confirm-mail-reply-to-news} is just the thing for
25904 If the new option @code{gnus-summary-display-while-building} is
25905 non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer is shown and updated as it's being
25909 The new @code{recent} mark @samp{.} indicates newly arrived messages (as
25910 opposed to old but unread messages).
25913 The new option @code{gnus-gcc-mark-as-read} automatically marks
25914 Gcc articles as read.
25917 The nndoc back end now supports mailman digests and exim bounces.
25920 Gnus supports RFC 2369 mailing list headers, and adds a number of
25921 related commands in mailing list groups. @xref{Mailing List}.
25924 The Date header can be displayed in a format that can be read aloud
25925 in English. @xref{Article Date}.
25928 The envelope sender address can be customized when using Sendmail.
25929 @xref{Mail Variables, Mail Variables,, message, Message Manual}.
25932 diffs are automatically highlighted in groups matching
25933 @code{mm-uu-diff-groups-regexp}
25936 @acronym{TLS} wrapper shipped with Gnus
25938 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} is now supported in @acronym{IMAP} and
25939 @acronym{NNTP} via @file{tls.el} and GNUTLS. The old
25940 @acronym{TLS}/@acronym{SSL} support via (external third party)
25941 @file{ssl.el} and OpenSSL still works.
25944 New @file{make.bat} for compiling and installing Gnus under MS Windows
25946 Use @file{make.bat} if you want to install Gnus under MS Windows, the
25947 first argument to the batch-program should be the directory where
25948 @file{xemacs.exe} respectively @file{emacs.exe} is located, iff you want
25949 to install Gnus after compiling it, give @file{make.bat} @code{/copy} as
25950 the second parameter.
25952 @file{make.bat} has been rewritten from scratch, it now features
25953 automatic recognition of XEmacs and GNU Emacs, generates
25954 @file{gnus-load.el}, checks if errors occur while compilation and
25955 generation of info files and reports them at the end of the build
25956 process. It now uses @code{makeinfo} if it is available and falls
25957 back to @file{infohack.el} otherwise. @file{make.bat} should now
25958 install all files which are necessary to run Gnus and be generally a
25959 complete replacement for the @code{configure; make; make install}
25960 cycle used under Unix systems.
25962 The new @file{make.bat} makes @file{make-x.bat} superfluous, so it has
25966 Support for non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names
25968 Message supports non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To: and
25969 Cc: and will query you whether to perform encoding when you try to
25970 send a message. The variable @code{message-use-idna} controls this.
25971 Gnus will also decode non-@acronym{ASCII} domain names in From:, To:
25972 and Cc: when you view a message. The variable @code{gnus-use-idna}
25976 Better handling of Microsoft citation styles
25978 Gnus now tries to recognize the mangled header block that some Microsoft
25979 mailers use to indicate that the rest of the message is a citation, even
25980 though it is not quoted in any way. The variable
25981 @code{gnus-cite-unsightly-citation-regexp} matches the start of these
25985 @code{gnus-article-skip-boring}
25987 If you set @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} to @code{t}, then Gnus will
25988 not scroll down to show you a page that contains only boring text,
25989 which by default means cited text and signature. You can customize
25990 what is skippable using @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}.
25992 This feature is especially useful if you read many articles that
25993 consist of a little new content at the top with a long, untrimmed
25994 message cited below.
25997 The format spec @code{%C} for positioning point has changed to @code{%*}.
26000 The new variable @code{gnus-parameters} can be used to set group parameters.
26002 Earlier this was done only via @kbd{G p} (or @kbd{G c}), which stored
26003 the parameters in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, but via this variable you can
26004 enjoy the powers of customize, and simplified backups since you set the
26005 variable in @file{~/.emacs} instead of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. The
26006 variable maps regular expressions matching group names to group
26009 (setq gnus-parameters
26011 (gnus-show-threads nil)
26012 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
26013 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
26014 (to-group . "\\1"))))
26018 Smileys (@samp{:-)}, @samp{;-)} etc) are now iconized for Emacs too.
26020 Put @code{(setq gnus-treat-display-smileys nil)} in @file{~/.emacs} to
26024 Gnus no longer generate the Sender: header automatically.
26026 Earlier it was generated iff the user configurable email address was
26027 different from the Gnus guessed default user address. As the guessing
26028 algorithm is rarely correct these days, and (more controversially) the
26029 only use of the Sender: header was to check if you are entitled to
26030 cancel/supersede news (which is now solved by Cancel Locks instead,
26031 see another entry), generation of the header has been disabled by
26032 default. See the variables @code{message-required-headers},
26033 @code{message-required-news-headers}, and
26034 @code{message-required-mail-headers}.
26037 Features from third party @file{message-utils.el} added to @file{message.el}.
26039 Message now asks if you wish to remove @samp{(was: <old subject>)} from
26040 subject lines (see @code{message-subject-trailing-was-query}). @kbd{C-c
26041 M-m} and @kbd{C-c M-f} inserts markers indicating included text.
26042 @kbd{C-c C-f a} adds a X-No-Archive: header. @kbd{C-c C-f x} inserts
26043 appropriate headers and a note in the body for cross-postings and
26044 followups (see the variables @code{message-cross-post-@var{*}}).
26047 References and X-Draft-Headers are no longer generated when you start
26048 composing messages and @code{message-generate-headers-first} is
26052 Improved anti-spam features.
26054 Gnus is now able to take out spam from your mail and news streams
26055 using a wide variety of programs and filter rules. Among the supported
26056 methods are RBL blocklists, bogofilter and white/blacklists. Hooks
26057 for easy use of external packages such as SpamAssassin and Hashcash
26058 are also new. @xref{Thwarting Email Spam}.
26061 Easy inclusion of X-Faces headers.
26064 Face headers handling.
26067 In the summary buffer, the new command @kbd{/ N} inserts new messages
26068 and @kbd{/ o} inserts old messages.
26071 Gnus decodes morse encoded messages if you press @kbd{W m}.
26074 Unread count correct in nnimap groups.
26076 The estimated number of unread articles in the group buffer should now
26077 be correct for nnimap groups. This is achieved by calling
26078 @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} from the
26079 @code{gnus-setup-news-hook} (called on startup) and
26080 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook}. (called after getting new
26081 mail). If you have modified those variables from the default, you may
26082 want to add @code{nnimap-fixup-unread-after-getting-new-news} again. If
26083 you were happy with the estimate and want to save some (minimal) time
26084 when getting new mail, remove the function.
26087 Group Carbon Copy (GCC) quoting
26089 To support groups that contains SPC and other weird characters, groups
26090 are quoted before they are placed in the Gcc: header. This means
26091 variables such as @code{gnus-message-archive-group} should no longer
26092 contain quote characters to make groups containing SPC work. Also, if
26093 you are using the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar} (indicating Gcc
26094 into two groups) you must change it to return the list
26095 @code{("nnml:foo" "nnml:bar")}, otherwise the Gcc: line will be quoted
26096 incorrectly. Note that returning the string @samp{nnml:foo, nnml:bar}
26097 was incorrect earlier, it just didn't generate any problems since it
26098 was inserted directly.
26101 @file{~/News/overview/} not used.
26103 As a result of the following change, the @file{~/News/overview/}
26104 directory is not used any more. You can safely delete the entire
26110 The Gnus Agent has seen a major updated and is now enabled by default,
26111 and all nntp and nnimap servers from @code{gnus-select-method} and
26112 @code{gnus-secondary-select-method} are agentized by default. Earlier
26113 only the server in @code{gnus-select-method} was agentized by the
26114 default, and the agent was disabled by default. When the agent is
26115 enabled, headers are now also retrieved from the Agent cache instead
26116 of the back ends when possible. Earlier this only happened in the
26117 unplugged state. You can enroll or remove servers with @kbd{J a} and
26118 @kbd{J r} in the server buffer. Gnus will not download articles into
26119 the Agent cache, unless you instruct it to do so, though, by using
26120 @kbd{J u} or @kbd{J s} from the Group buffer. You revert to the old
26121 behaviour of having the Agent disabled with @code{(setq gnus-agent
26122 nil)}. Note that putting @code{(gnus-agentize)} in @file{~/.gnus.el}
26123 is not needed any more.
26126 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}
26128 The default value changed to @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%)
26129 %s\n}. Moreover @code{gnus-extra-headers},
26130 @code{nnmail-extra-headers} and @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses}
26131 changed their default so that the users name will be replaced by the
26132 recipient's name or the group name posting to for @acronym{NNTP}
26136 @file{deuglify.el} (@code{gnus-article-outlook-deuglify-article})
26138 A new file from Raymond Scholz @email{rscholz@@zonix.de} for deuglifying
26139 broken Outlook (Express) articles.
26142 @code{(require 'gnus-load)}
26144 If you use a stand-alone Gnus distribution, you'd better add
26145 @code{(require 'gnus-load)} into your @file{~/.emacs} after adding the Gnus
26146 lisp directory into load-path.
26148 File @file{gnus-load.el} contains autoload commands, functions and variables,
26149 some of which may not be included in distributions of Emacsen.
26152 @code{gnus-slave-unplugged}
26154 A new command which starts Gnus offline in slave mode.
26157 @code{message-insinuate-rmail}
26159 Adding @code{(message-insinuate-rmail)} and @code{(setq
26160 mail-user-agent 'gnus-user-agent)} in @file{.emacs} convinces Rmail to
26161 compose, reply and forward messages in message-mode, where you can
26162 enjoy the power of @acronym{MML}.
26165 @code{message-minibuffer-local-map}
26167 The line below enables BBDB in resending a message:
26169 (define-key message-minibuffer-local-map [(tab)]
26170 'bbdb-complete-name)
26174 Externalizing and deleting of attachments.
26176 If @code{gnus-gcc-externalize-attachments} or
26177 @code{message-fcc-externalize-attachments} is non-@code{nil}, attach
26178 local files as external parts.
26180 The command @code{gnus-mime-save-part-and-strip} (bound to @kbd{C-o}
26181 on @acronym{MIME} buttons) saves a part and replaces the part with an
26182 external one. @code{gnus-mime-delete-part} (bound to @kbd{d} on
26183 @acronym{MIME} buttons) removes a part. It works only on back ends
26184 that support editing.
26187 @code{gnus-default-charset}
26189 The default value is determined from the
26190 @code{current-language-environment} variable, instead of
26191 @code{iso-8859-1}. Also the @samp{.*} item in
26192 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} is removed.
26195 @code{gnus-posting-styles}
26197 Add a new format of match like
26199 ((header "to" "larsi.*org")
26200 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26202 The old format like the lines below is obsolete, but still accepted.
26204 (header "to" "larsi.*org"
26205 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
26209 @code{message-ignored-news-headers} and @code{message-ignored-mail-headers}
26211 @samp{X-Draft-From} and @samp{X-Gnus-Agent-Meta-Information} have been
26212 added into these two variables. If you customized those, perhaps you
26213 need add those two headers too.
26216 Gnus reads the @acronym{NOV} and articles in the Agent if plugged.
26218 If one reads an article while plugged, and the article already exists
26219 in the Agent, it won't get downloaded once more. @code{(setq
26220 gnus-agent-cache nil)} reverts to the old behavior.
26223 Gnus supports the ``format=flowed'' (RFC 2646) parameter. On
26224 composing messages, it is enabled by @code{use-hard-newlines}.
26225 Decoding format=flowed was present but not documented in earlier
26229 Gnus supports the generation of RFC 2298 Disposition Notification requests.
26231 This is invoked with the @kbd{C-c M-n} key binding from message mode.
26234 Gnus supports Maildir groups.
26236 Gnus includes a new back end @file{nnmaildir.el}. @xref{Maildir}.
26239 Printing capabilities are enhanced.
26241 Gnus supports Muttprint natively with @kbd{O P} from the Summary and
26242 Article buffers. Also, each individual @acronym{MIME} part can be
26243 printed using @kbd{p} on the @acronym{MIME} button.
26246 Message supports the Importance: (RFC 2156) header.
26248 In the message buffer, @kbd{C-c C-f C-i} or @kbd{C-c C-u} cycles through
26252 Gnus supports Cancel Locks in News.
26254 This means a header @samp{Cancel-Lock} is inserted in news posting. It is
26255 used to determine if you wrote an article or not (for canceling and
26256 superseding). Gnus generates a random password string the first time
26257 you post a message, and saves it in your @file{~/.emacs} using the Custom
26258 system. While the variable is called @code{canlock-password}, it is not
26259 security sensitive data. Publishing your canlock string on the web
26260 will not allow anyone to be able to anything she could not already do.
26261 The behaviour can be changed by customizing @code{message-insert-canlock}.
26264 Gnus supports server-side mail filtering using Sieve.
26266 Sieve rules can be added as Group Parameters for groups, and the
26267 complete Sieve script is generated using @kbd{D g} from the Group
26268 buffer, and then uploaded to the server using @kbd{C-c C-l} in the
26269 generated Sieve buffer. @xref{Sieve Commands}, and the new Sieve
26270 manual @ref{Top, , Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
26273 Extended format specs.
26275 Format spec @samp{%&user-date;} is added into
26276 @code{gnus-summary-line-format-alist}. Also, user defined extended
26277 format specs are supported. The extended format specs look like
26278 @samp{%u&foo;}, which invokes function
26279 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{foo}}. Because @samp{&} is used as the
26280 escape character, old user defined format @samp{%u&} is no longer supported.
26283 @kbd{/ *} (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}) is rewritten.
26285 It was aliased to @kbd{Y c}
26286 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}). The new function filters
26287 out other articles.
26289 @item Some limiting commands accept a @kbd{C-u} prefix to negate the match.
26291 If @kbd{C-u} is used on subject, author or extra headers, i.e., @kbd{/
26292 s}, @kbd{/ a}, and @kbd{/ x}
26293 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-@{subject,author,extra@}}) respectively, the
26294 result will be to display all articles that do not match the expression.
26297 Group names are treated as UTF-8 by default.
26299 This is supposedly what USEFOR wanted to migrate to. See
26300 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} and
26301 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} for customization.
26304 The nnml and nnfolder back ends store marks for each groups.
26306 This makes it possible to take backup of nnml/nnfolder servers/groups
26307 separately of @file{~/.newsrc.eld}, while preserving marks. It also
26308 makes it possible to share articles and marks between users (without
26309 sharing the @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file) within e.g. a department. It
26310 works by storing the marks stored in @file{~/.newsrc.eld} in a per-group
26311 file @file{.marks} (for nnml) and @file{@var{groupname}.mrk} (for
26312 nnfolder, named @var{groupname}). If the nnml/nnfolder is moved to
26313 another machine, Gnus will automatically use the @file{.marks} or
26314 @file{.mrk} file instead of the information in @file{~/.newsrc.eld}.
26315 The new server variables @code{nnml-marks-is-evil} and
26316 @code{nnfolder-marks-is-evil} can be used to disable this feature.
26319 The menu bar item (in Group and Summary buffer) named ``Misc'' has
26320 been renamed to ``Gnus''.
26323 The menu bar item (in Message mode) named ``@acronym{MML}'' has been
26324 renamed to ``Attachments''. Note that this menu also contains security
26325 related stuff, like signing and encryption (@pxref{Security, Security,,
26326 message, Message Manual}).
26329 @code{gnus-group-charset-alist} and
26330 @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
26332 The regexps in these variables are compared with full group names
26333 instead of real group names in 5.8. Users who customize these
26334 variables should change those regexps accordingly. For example:
26336 ("^han\\>" euc-kr) -> ("\\(^\\|:\\)han\\>" euc-kr)
26340 Gnus supports @acronym{PGP} (RFC 1991/2440), @acronym{PGP/MIME} (RFC
26341 2015/3156) and @acronym{S/MIME} (RFC 2630-2633).
26343 It needs an external @acronym{S/MIME} and OpenPGP implementation, but no
26344 additional Lisp libraries. This add several menu items to the
26345 Attachments menu, and @kbd{C-c RET} key bindings, when composing
26346 messages. This also obsoletes @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook}.
26349 Gnus inlines external parts (message/external).
26352 @acronym{MML} (Mime compose) prefix changed from @kbd{M-m} to @kbd{C-c
26355 This change was made to avoid conflict with the standard binding of
26356 @code{back-to-indentation}, which is also useful in message mode.
26359 The default for @code{message-forward-show-mml} changed to symbol @code{best}.
26361 The behaviour for the @code{best} value is to show @acronym{MML} (i.e.,
26362 convert to @acronym{MIME}) when appropriate. @acronym{MML} will not be
26363 used when forwarding signed or encrypted messages, as the conversion
26364 invalidate the digital signature.
26368 @subsubsection No Gnus
26371 New features in No Gnus:
26372 @c FIXME: Gnus 5.12?
26374 @include gnus-news.texi
26380 @section The Manual
26384 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
26385 either @code{texi2dvi}
26387 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
26388 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
26390 to get what you hold in your hands now.
26392 The following conventions have been used:
26397 This is a @samp{string}
26400 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
26403 This is a @file{file}
26406 This is a @code{symbol}
26410 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
26414 (setq flargnoze "yes")
26417 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
26420 (setq flumphel 'yes)
26423 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
26424 ever get them confused.
26428 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
26429 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
26430 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
26431 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
26432 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
26433 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
26434 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
26440 @node On Writing Manuals
26441 @section On Writing Manuals
26443 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
26444 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
26445 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
26446 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
26447 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
26448 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
26451 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
26452 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
26453 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
26456 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
26457 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
26462 @section Terminology
26464 @cindex terminology
26469 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
26470 News is generally fetched from a nearby @acronym{NNTP} server, and is
26471 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
26472 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
26473 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
26477 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
26478 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
26479 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
26480 not posting, and replying is not following up.
26484 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
26488 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
26493 Gnus considers mail and news to be mostly the same, really. The only
26494 difference is how to access the actual articles. News articles are
26495 commonly fetched via the protocol @acronym{NNTP}, whereas mail
26496 messages could be read from a file on the local disk. The internal
26497 architecture of Gnus thus comprises a ``front end'' and a number of
26498 ``back ends''. Internally, when you enter a group (by hitting
26499 @key{RET}, say), you thereby invoke a function in the front end in
26500 Gnus. The front end then ``talks'' to a back end and says things like
26501 ``Give me the list of articles in the foo group'' or ``Show me article
26504 So a back end mainly defines either a protocol (the @code{nntp} back
26505 end accesses news via @acronym{NNTP}, the @code{nnimap} back end
26506 accesses mail via @acronym{IMAP}) or a file format and directory
26507 layout (the @code{nnspool} back end accesses news via the common
26508 ``spool directory'' format, the @code{nnml} back end access mail via a
26509 file format and directory layout that's quite similar).
26511 Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this is all
26512 done by the back ends. A back end is a collection of functions to
26513 access the articles.
26515 However, sometimes the term ``back end'' is also used where ``server''
26516 would have been more appropriate. And then there is the term ``select
26517 method'' which can mean either. The Gnus terminology can be quite
26522 Gnus will always use one method (and back end) as the @dfn{native}, or
26523 default, way of getting news.
26527 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
26528 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary back ends for getting
26533 Secondary back ends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
26534 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
26538 A message that has been posted as news.
26541 @cindex mail message
26542 A message that has been mailed.
26546 A mail message or news article
26550 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
26555 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
26560 A line from the head of an article.
26564 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
26565 collection of @acronym{NOV} lines.
26567 @item @acronym{NOV}
26568 @cindex @acronym{NOV}
26569 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the back end for the headers of all
26570 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
26571 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
26572 normal @sc{head} format.
26576 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
26577 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
26578 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
26579 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
26580 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
26581 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
26583 @item killed groups
26584 @cindex killed groups
26585 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
26586 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
26588 @item zombie groups
26589 @cindex zombie groups
26590 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
26593 @cindex active file
26594 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
26595 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
26596 is rather large, as you might surmise.
26599 @cindex bogus groups
26600 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
26601 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
26602 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
26605 @cindex activating groups
26606 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
26607 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
26608 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
26612 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
26614 @item select method
26615 @cindex select method
26616 A structure that specifies the back end, the server and the virtual
26619 @item virtual server
26620 @cindex virtual server
26621 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
26622 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
26623 whole is a virtual server.
26627 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
26628 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
26631 @item ephemeral groups
26632 @cindex ephemeral groups
26633 @cindex temporary groups
26634 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
26635 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
26636 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
26639 @cindex solid groups
26640 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
26641 group buffer are solid groups.
26643 @item sparse articles
26644 @cindex sparse articles
26645 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
26646 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
26650 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
26651 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
26655 @cindex thread root
26656 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
26657 articles in the thread.
26661 An article that has responses.
26665 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
26669 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
26670 specified by RFC 1153.
26673 @cindex splitting, terminolgy
26674 @cindex mail sorting
26675 @cindex mail filtering (splitting)
26676 The action of sorting your emails according to certain rules. Sometimes
26677 incorrectly called mail filtering.
26683 @node Customization
26684 @section Customization
26685 @cindex general customization
26687 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
26688 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
26689 for some quite common situations.
26692 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
26693 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
26694 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
26695 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
26699 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
26700 @subsection Slow/Expensive NNTP Connection
26702 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
26703 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
26704 Gnus has to get from the @acronym{NNTP} server.
26708 @item gnus-read-active-file
26709 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
26710 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
26711 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26712 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
26713 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
26715 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
26716 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
26717 the @acronym{NNTP} server will not be very fast. Not all @acronym{NNTP} servers
26718 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
26722 @node Slow Terminal Connection
26723 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
26725 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
26726 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
26727 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
26731 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
26732 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
26733 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
26734 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
26735 horizontal and vertical recentering.
26737 @item gnus-visible-headers
26738 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
26739 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
26740 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
26741 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
26743 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
26745 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
26746 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
26747 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
26750 @item gnus-use-full-window
26751 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
26752 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
26753 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
26754 want to read them anyway.
26756 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
26757 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
26761 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
26762 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
26763 lines, which might save some time.
26767 @node Little Disk Space
26768 @subsection Little Disk Space
26771 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
26772 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
26776 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
26777 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
26778 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26779 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26782 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
26783 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
26784 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
26785 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
26788 @item gnus-save-killed-list
26789 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
26790 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
26791 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
26792 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
26798 @subsection Slow Machine
26799 @cindex slow machine
26801 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
26802 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
26804 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
26805 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
26807 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
26808 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
26809 summary buffer faster.
26811 Gnus uses the internal ELisp-based @code{uncompface} program for
26812 decoding an @code{X-Face} header normally in Emacs. If you feel it is
26813 slow, set @code{uncompface-use-external} to @code{t}. @xref{X-Face}.
26817 @node Troubleshooting
26818 @section Troubleshooting
26819 @cindex troubleshooting
26821 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
26829 Make sure your computer is switched on.
26832 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
26833 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
26837 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
26838 like @samp{Gnus v5.10.6} you have the right files loaded. Otherwise
26839 you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
26842 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a
26843 @acronym{FAQ} and a how-to.
26846 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
26847 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
26848 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
26849 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
26850 something like that.
26853 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
26856 @cindex reporting bugs
26858 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
26860 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
26861 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
26862 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
26863 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
26865 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
26866 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
26867 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
26868 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
26871 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
26872 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
26873 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
26874 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
26875 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
26876 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
26878 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
26879 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
26880 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
26884 If you would like to contribute a patch to fix bugs or make
26885 improvements, please produce the patch using @samp{diff -u}.
26888 If you want to debug your problem further before reporting, possibly
26889 in order to solve the problem yourself and send a patch, you can use
26890 edebug. Debugging Lisp code is documented in the Elisp manual
26891 (@pxref{Debugging, , Debugging Lisp Programs, elisp, The GNU Emacs
26892 Lisp Reference Manual}). To get you started with edebug, consider if
26893 you discover some weird behaviour when pressing @kbd{c}, the first
26894 step is to do @kbd{C-h k c} and click on the hyperlink (Emacs only) in
26895 the documentation buffer that leads you to the function definition,
26896 then press @kbd{M-x edebug-defun RET} with point inside that function,
26897 return to Gnus and press @kbd{c} to invoke the code. You will be
26898 placed in the lisp buffer and can single step using @kbd{SPC} and
26899 evaluate expressions using @kbd{M-:} or inspect variables using
26900 @kbd{C-h v}, abort execution with @kbd{q}, and resume execution with
26901 @kbd{c} or @kbd{g}.
26906 Sometimes, a problem do not directly generate an elisp error but
26907 manifests itself by causing Gnus to be very slow. In these cases, you
26908 can use @kbd{M-x toggle-debug-on-quit} and press @kbd{C-g} when things are
26909 slow, and then try to analyze the backtrace (repeating the procedure
26910 helps isolating the real problem areas).
26912 A fancier approach is to use the elisp profiler, ELP. The profiler is
26913 (or should be) fully documented elsewhere, but to get you started
26914 there are a few steps that need to be followed. First, instrument the
26915 part of Gnus you are interested in for profiling, e.g. @kbd{M-x
26916 elp-instrument-package RET gnus} or @kbd{M-x elp-instrument-package
26917 RET message}. Then perform the operation that is slow and press
26918 @kbd{M-x elp-results}. You will then see which operations that takes
26919 time, and can debug them further. If the entire operation takes much
26920 longer than the time spent in the slowest function in the profiler
26921 output, you probably profiled the wrong part of Gnus. To reset
26922 profiling statistics, use @kbd{M-x elp-reset-all}. @kbd{M-x
26923 elp-restore-all} is supposed to remove profiling, but given the
26924 complexities and dynamic code generation in Gnus, it might not always
26927 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
26928 @cindex ding mailing list
26929 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
26930 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful. You can also ask on
26931 @email{ding@@gnus.org, the ding mailing list}. Write to
26932 @email{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
26936 @node Gnus Reference Guide
26937 @section Gnus Reference Guide
26939 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
26940 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
26941 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
26942 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
26945 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
26946 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
26947 back ends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
26948 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
26949 and general methods of operation.
26952 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
26953 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
26954 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
26955 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
26956 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
26957 * Group Info:: The group info format.
26958 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
26959 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
26960 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
26964 @node Gnus Utility Functions
26965 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
26966 @cindex Gnus utility functions
26967 @cindex utility functions
26969 @cindex internal variables
26971 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
26972 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
26973 Below is a list of the most common ones.
26977 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
26978 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
26979 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
26981 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
26982 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
26983 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
26985 @item gnus-group-real-name
26986 @findex gnus-group-real-name
26987 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
26990 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
26991 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
26992 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
26993 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
26995 @item gnus-get-info
26996 @findex gnus-get-info
26997 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
26999 @item gnus-group-unread
27000 @findex gnus-group-unread
27001 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
27005 @findex gnus-active
27006 The active entry for @var{group}.
27008 @item gnus-set-active
27009 @findex gnus-set-active
27010 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
27012 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27013 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
27014 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
27017 @item gnus-continuum-version
27018 @findex gnus-continuum-version
27019 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
27020 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
27023 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
27024 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
27025 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
27027 @item gnus-news-group-p
27028 @findex gnus-news-group-p
27029 Says whether @var{group} came from a news back end.
27031 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27032 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
27033 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
27035 @item gnus-server-to-method
27036 @findex gnus-server-to-method
27037 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
27039 @item gnus-server-equal
27040 @findex gnus-server-equal
27041 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
27043 @item gnus-group-native-p
27044 @findex gnus-group-native-p
27045 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
27047 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
27048 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
27049 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
27051 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
27052 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
27053 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
27055 @item gnus-group-find-parameter
27056 @findex gnus-group-find-parameter
27057 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
27058 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
27060 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
27061 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
27062 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
27064 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
27065 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
27066 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
27068 @item gnus-check-backend-function
27069 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
27070 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the back end
27071 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
27074 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
27078 @item gnus-read-method
27079 @findex gnus-read-method
27080 Prompts the user for a select method.
27085 @node Back End Interface
27086 @subsection Back End Interface
27088 Gnus doesn't know anything about @acronym{NNTP}, spools, mail or virtual
27089 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
27090 server is a @dfn{back end} and some @dfn{back end variables}. As examples
27091 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
27092 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
27093 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
27095 When Gnus asks for information from a back end---say @code{nntp}---on
27096 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
27097 function parameters. (If not, the back end should use the ``current''
27098 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
27099 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
27100 been opened, the function should fail.
27102 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
27103 name. Take this example:
27107 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
27108 (nntp-port-number 4324))
27111 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
27112 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
27114 The back ends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
27115 The standard back ends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
27116 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
27118 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
27119 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
27120 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
27122 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
27123 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
27124 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
27125 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
27126 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
27127 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
27130 Some back ends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} back ends, and
27131 some might be said not to be. The latter are back ends that generally
27132 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
27133 ---they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
27136 Gnus identifies each message by way of group name and article number. A
27137 few remarks about these article numbers might be useful. First of all,
27138 the numbers are positive integers. Secondly, it is normally not
27139 possible for later articles to ``re-use'' older article numbers without
27140 confusing Gnus. That is, if a group has ever contained a message
27141 numbered 42, then no other message may get that number, or Gnus will get
27142 mightily confused.@footnote{See the function
27143 @code{nnchoke-request-update-info}, @ref{Optional Back End Functions}.}
27144 Third, article numbers must be assigned in order of arrival in the
27145 group; this is not necessarily the same as the date of the message.
27147 The previous paragraph already mentions all the ``hard'' restrictions that
27148 article numbers must fulfill. But it seems that it might be useful to
27149 assign @emph{consecutive} article numbers, for Gnus gets quite confused
27150 if there are holes in the article numbering sequence. However, due to
27151 the ``no-reuse'' restriction, holes cannot be avoided altogether. It's
27152 also useful for the article numbers to start at 1 to avoid running out
27153 of numbers as long as possible.
27155 Note that by convention, back ends are named @code{nnsomething}, but
27156 Gnus also comes with some @code{nnnotbackends}, such as
27157 @file{nnheader.el}, @file{nnmail.el} and @file{nnoo.el}.
27159 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary back end
27162 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
27165 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
27166 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
27167 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
27168 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
27169 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
27170 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
27174 @node Required Back End Functions
27175 @subsubsection Required Back End Functions
27179 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
27181 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
27182 @code{Message-ID}s. Current back ends do not fully support either---only
27183 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most back ends do not support
27184 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
27186 The result data should either be HEADs or @acronym{NOV} lines, and the result
27187 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
27188 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
27189 of HEADs and @acronym{NOV} lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
27191 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching ``extra
27192 headers'', in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
27193 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
27194 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
27195 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the back end finds it
27196 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
27197 number, do maximum fetches.
27199 Here's an example HEAD:
27202 221 1056 Article retrieved.
27203 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
27204 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
27205 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
27206 Subject: Re: Something very droll
27207 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
27208 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
27210 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
27211 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
27212 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
27216 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
27217 these in the data buffer.
27219 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
27223 head = error / valid-head
27224 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
27225 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
27226 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
27227 header = <text> eol
27231 (The version of BNF used here is the one used in RFC822.)
27233 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
27234 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
27238 nov-buffer = *nov-line
27239 nov-line = field 7*8[ <TAB> field ] eol
27240 field = <text except TAB>
27243 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
27247 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
27249 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
27250 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
27252 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The back end
27253 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
27254 server. In fact, it should do so.
27256 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
27257 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
27260 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
27262 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
27263 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
27266 There should be no data returned.
27269 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
27271 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the back end
27272 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that back end
27273 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
27274 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
27276 There should be no data returned.
27279 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
27281 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
27282 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
27283 non-@code{nil} value. This function should under no circumstances
27284 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
27286 There should be no data returned.
27289 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
27291 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
27293 There should be no data returned.
27296 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
27298 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
27299 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
27300 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
27301 it would be nice if that were possible.
27303 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
27304 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
27305 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
27306 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
27307 into its article buffer.
27309 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
27310 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
27311 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
27312 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
27313 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
27314 on successful article retrieval.
27317 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
27319 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
27320 making @var{group} the current group.
27322 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
27325 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
27328 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
27331 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
27332 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
27333 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
27334 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
27335 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
27336 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
27337 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
27338 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader. If the group contains no
27339 articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1 and the
27343 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
27344 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
27345 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
27349 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27351 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
27352 a no-op on most back ends.
27354 There should be no data returned.
27357 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
27359 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
27362 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
27365 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
27366 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
27369 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
27370 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag. If the group
27371 contains no articles, the lowest article number should be reported as 1
27372 and the highest as 0.
27375 active-file = *active-line
27376 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
27378 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
27381 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
27382 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
27383 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
27386 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
27388 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
27389 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
27390 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
27391 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
27392 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
27393 clear if the posting could not be completed.
27395 There should be no result data from this function.
27400 @node Optional Back End Functions
27401 @subsubsection Optional Back End Functions
27405 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
27407 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
27408 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
27409 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
27411 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
27412 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
27413 former is in the same format as the data from
27414 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
27415 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
27418 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
27422 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
27424 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the back end for
27425 alterations. This comes in handy if the back end really carries all
27426 the information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
27427 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
27428 should return a non-@code{nil} value.
27430 There should be no result data from this function.
27433 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
27435 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
27436 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
27437 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
27438 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
27439 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
27440 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
27441 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
27442 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
27444 There should be no result data from this function.
27447 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
27449 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
27450 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
27451 @file{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some back ends (such as @acronym{IMAP}) however carry
27452 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
27453 propagate the mark information to the server.
27455 @var{action} is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
27458 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
27461 @var{range} is a range of articles you wish to update marks on.
27462 @var{action} is @code{add} or @code{del}, used to add marks or remove
27463 marks (preserving all marks not mentioned). @var{mark} is a list of
27464 marks; where each mark is a symbol. Currently used marks are
27465 @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply}, @code{expire}, @code{killed},
27466 @code{dormant}, @code{save}, @code{download}, @code{unsend},
27467 @code{forward} and @code{recent}, but your back end should, if
27468 possible, not limit itself to these.
27470 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
27471 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
27472 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
27473 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
27475 An example action list:
27478 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
27479 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
27480 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
27483 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
27484 mark on (currently not used for anything).
27486 There should be no result data from this function.
27488 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
27490 If the user tries to set a mark that the back end doesn't like, this
27491 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
27492 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
27493 @var{mark}. If the back end doesn't care, it must return the original
27494 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
27496 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
27497 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
27498 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
27501 There should be no result data from this function.
27504 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
27506 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
27507 request that the back end check for incoming articles, in one way or
27508 another. A mail back end will typically read the spool file or query
27509 the @acronym{POP} server when this function is invoked. The
27510 @var{group} doesn't have to be heeded---if the back end decides that
27511 it is too much work just scanning for a single group, it may do a
27512 total scan of all groups. It would be nice, however, to keep things
27513 local if that's practical.
27515 There should be no result data from this function.
27518 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
27520 The result data from this function should be a description of
27524 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
27526 description = <text>
27529 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
27531 The result data from this function should be the description of all
27532 groups available on the server.
27535 description-buffer = *description-line
27539 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
27541 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
27542 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date format
27543 (i.e., the date format used in mail and news headers, and returned by
27544 the function @code{message-make-date} by default). The data should be
27545 in the active buffer format.
27547 It is okay for this function to return ``too many'' groups; some back ends
27548 might find it cheaper to return the full list of groups, rather than
27549 just the new groups. But don't do this for back ends with many groups.
27550 Normally, if the user creates the groups herself, there won't be too
27551 many groups, so @code{nnml} and the like are probably safe. But for
27552 back ends like @code{nntp}, where the groups have been created by the
27553 server, it is quite likely that there can be many groups.
27556 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
27558 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
27560 There should be no return data.
27563 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
27565 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
27566 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
27567 numbers.) It is left up to the back end to decide how old articles
27568 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
27569 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
27572 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
27575 There should be no result data returned.
27578 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM &optional LAST)
27580 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
27581 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
27583 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
27584 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
27585 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
27586 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
27587 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
27588 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
27590 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
27591 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
27594 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27595 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27597 There should be no data returned.
27600 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
27602 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
27603 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
27604 this function in short order.
27606 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
27607 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
27609 The group should exist before the back end is asked to accept the
27610 article for that group.
27612 There should be no data returned.
27615 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
27617 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
27618 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
27620 There should be no data returned.
27623 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
27625 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
27626 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
27627 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
27629 There should be no data returned.
27632 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
27634 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
27635 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
27637 There should be no data returned.
27642 @node Error Messaging
27643 @subsubsection Error Messaging
27645 @findex nnheader-report
27646 @findex nnheader-get-report
27647 The back ends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
27648 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
27649 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the back end
27650 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
27651 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
27652 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
27655 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
27657 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
27660 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
27661 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
27662 recently reported message for the back end in question. This function
27663 takes one argument---the server symbol.
27665 Internally, these functions access @var{back-end}@code{-status-string},
27666 so the @code{nnchoke} back end will have its error message stored in
27667 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
27670 @node Writing New Back Ends
27671 @subsubsection Writing New Back Ends
27673 Many back ends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
27674 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
27675 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
27676 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
27677 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
27680 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
27681 back ends when writing new back ends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
27682 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
27684 All the back ends declare their public variables and functions by using a
27685 package called @code{nnoo}.
27687 To inherit functions from other back ends (and allow other back ends to
27688 inherit functions from the current back end), you should use the
27694 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
27695 parameters. For instance:
27698 (nnoo-declare nndir
27702 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
27703 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
27706 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
27707 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
27708 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
27710 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
27711 variables in the parent back ends to map the variable to when executing
27712 a function in those back ends.
27715 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27716 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27717 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27720 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
27721 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
27722 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
27724 @item nnoo-define-basics
27725 This macro defines some common functions that almost all back ends should
27729 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27733 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
27734 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
27735 function as being public so that other back ends can inherit it.
27737 @item nnoo-map-functions
27738 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current back end to
27739 functions from the parent back ends.
27742 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27743 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27744 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
27747 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
27748 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
27749 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
27750 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
27753 This macro allows importing functions from back ends. It should be the
27754 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
27755 haven't already been defined.
27761 nnmh-request-newgroups)
27765 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
27766 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
27767 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
27772 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} back end.
27775 ;;; @r{nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus}
27776 ;; @r{Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.}
27780 (require 'nnheader)
27784 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
27786 (nnoo-declare nndir
27789 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
27790 "Where nndir will look for groups."
27791 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
27793 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
27794 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
27797 (defvoo nndir-current-group ""
27799 nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
27800 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
27801 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
27803 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
27804 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
27806 ;;; @r{Interface functions.}
27808 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
27810 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
27811 (setq nndir-directory
27812 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
27814 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
27815 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
27816 (push `(nndir-current-group
27817 ,(file-name-nondirectory
27818 (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27820 (push `(nndir-top-directory
27821 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
27823 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
27825 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
27826 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27827 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
27828 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
27829 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
27833 nnmh-status-message
27835 nnmh-request-newgroups))
27841 @node Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27842 @subsubsection Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus
27844 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
27845 @findex gnus-declare-backend
27846 Having Gnus start using your new back end is rather easy---you just
27847 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
27848 enter the back end into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
27850 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the back end name and
27851 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
27856 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
27859 The above line would then go in the @file{nnchoke.el} file.
27861 The abilities can be:
27865 This is a mailish back end---followups should (probably) go via mail.
27867 This is a newsish back end---followups should (probably) go via news.
27869 This back end supports both mail and news.
27871 This is neither a post nor mail back end---it's something completely
27874 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
27875 articles and groups.
27877 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
27878 true for almost all back ends.
27879 @item prompt-address
27880 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
27881 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for back ends like
27882 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
27886 @node Mail-like Back Ends
27887 @subsubsection Mail-like Back Ends
27889 One of the things that separate the mail back ends from the rest of the
27890 back ends is the heavy dependence by most of the mail back ends on
27891 common functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the
27892 definition of @code{nnml-request-scan}:
27895 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
27896 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
27897 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
27900 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
27901 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
27904 This function takes four parameters.
27908 This should be a symbol to designate which back end is responsible for
27911 @item exit-function
27912 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
27914 @item temp-directory
27915 Where the temporary files should be stored.
27918 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
27919 performed for one group only.
27922 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{back-end}@code{-save-mail} to
27923 save each article. @var{back-end}@code{-active-number} will be called to
27924 find the article number assigned to this article.
27926 The function also uses the following variables:
27927 @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
27928 this back end); and @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} and
27929 @var{back-end}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
27930 @var{back-end}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
27934 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
27935 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
27939 @node Score File Syntax
27940 @subsection Score File Syntax
27942 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
27943 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
27944 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
27946 Here's a typical score file:
27950 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
27957 BNF definition of a score file:
27960 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
27961 element = rule / atom
27962 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
27963 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
27964 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
27965 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
27967 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
27968 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
27969 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
27970 date-header = "date"
27971 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27972 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27973 score = "nil" / <integer>
27974 date = "nil" / <natural number>
27975 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
27976 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
27977 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
27978 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
27979 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27980 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
27981 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
27982 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
27983 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
27984 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
27985 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
27986 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
27987 exclude-files / read-only / touched
27988 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
27989 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
27990 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
27991 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
27992 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
27993 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
27994 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
27995 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
27996 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
27997 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
27998 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
27999 eval = "eval" space <form>
28000 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
28003 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
28006 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
28007 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
28008 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
28009 one looong line, then that's ok.
28011 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
28012 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
28016 @subsection Headers
28018 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
28019 corresponds to the @acronym{NOV} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
28020 almost suspect that the author looked at the @acronym{NOV} specification and
28021 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
28023 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
28024 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
28025 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
28026 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
28027 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
28028 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
28029 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
28031 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
28032 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
28033 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
28034 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
28035 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
28037 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
28038 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
28044 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
28045 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
28047 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
28048 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
28049 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
28050 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
28052 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
28056 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
28059 is transformed into
28062 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
28065 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
28066 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
28069 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
28072 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
28073 is slightly tricky:
28076 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
28082 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
28085 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
28091 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
28098 and is equal to the previous range.
28100 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
28101 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
28102 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
28106 range = simple-range / normal-range
28107 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
28108 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
28109 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
28110 number *[ " " contents ]
28113 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
28114 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
28115 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
28116 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
28117 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
28122 @subsection Group Info
28124 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
28125 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
28126 describes the group.
28128 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
28129 second is a more complex one:
28132 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
28134 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
28135 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
28137 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
28140 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
28141 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
28142 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
28143 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
28144 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
28145 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
28146 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
28147 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
28148 this section is about.
28150 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
28151 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
28152 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
28154 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
28157 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
28158 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
28159 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
28160 group = quote <string> quote
28161 ralevel = rank / level
28162 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28163 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
28164 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
28166 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
28167 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
28168 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
28169 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
28172 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
28173 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
28176 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
28177 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
28180 @item gnus-info-group
28181 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
28182 @findex gnus-info-group
28183 @findex gnus-info-set-group
28184 Get/set the group name.
28186 @item gnus-info-rank
28187 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
28188 @findex gnus-info-rank
28189 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
28190 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
28192 @item gnus-info-level
28193 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
28194 @findex gnus-info-level
28195 @findex gnus-info-set-level
28196 Get/set the group level.
28198 @item gnus-info-score
28199 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
28200 @findex gnus-info-score
28201 @findex gnus-info-set-score
28202 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
28204 @item gnus-info-read
28205 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
28206 @findex gnus-info-read
28207 @findex gnus-info-set-read
28208 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
28210 @item gnus-info-marks
28211 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
28212 @findex gnus-info-marks
28213 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
28214 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
28216 @item gnus-info-method
28217 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
28218 @findex gnus-info-method
28219 @findex gnus-info-set-method
28220 Get/set the group select method.
28222 @item gnus-info-params
28223 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
28224 @findex gnus-info-params
28225 @findex gnus-info-set-params
28226 Get/set the group parameters.
28229 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
28230 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
28232 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
28233 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
28234 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
28235 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
28238 @node Extended Interactive
28239 @subsection Extended Interactive
28240 @cindex interactive
28241 @findex gnus-interactive
28243 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
28244 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
28245 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
28248 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
28249 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
28254 The best thing to do would have been to implement
28255 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
28256 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
28257 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
28258 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
28259 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
28260 @code{interactive}.
28262 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
28267 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
28268 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
28272 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
28273 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
28274 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
28277 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
28281 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
28285 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
28291 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
28292 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
28296 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
28297 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
28298 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
28300 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
28301 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
28302 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
28303 Gnus, that's very useful.
28305 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
28306 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
28307 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
28308 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
28309 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
28310 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
28311 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
28312 following function:
28315 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
28319 (,function ,@@args))
28323 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
28324 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
28325 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
28328 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
28329 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
28330 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
28332 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
28333 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
28334 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
28337 @node Various File Formats
28338 @subsection Various File Formats
28341 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
28342 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
28346 @node Active File Format
28347 @subsubsection Active File Format
28349 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
28350 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
28353 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
28356 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
28357 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
28358 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
28359 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
28360 no.general 1000 900 y
28363 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
28366 active = *group-line
28367 group-line = group spc high-number spc low-number spc flag <NEWLINE>
28368 group = <non-white-space string>
28370 high-number = <non-negative integer>
28371 low-number = <positive integer>
28372 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
28375 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
28376 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
28379 @node Newsgroups File Format
28380 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
28382 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
28383 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
28384 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
28387 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
28388 Here's the definition:
28392 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
28393 group = <non-white-space string>
28395 description = <string>
28400 @node Emacs for Heathens
28401 @section Emacs for Heathens
28403 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
28404 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
28405 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{C-M-a}'', ``kill the
28406 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
28407 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
28408 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
28409 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
28413 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
28414 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
28419 @subsection Keystrokes
28423 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
28426 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
28429 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
28430 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
28431 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
28432 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
28433 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
28434 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
28436 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
28437 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
28438 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
28439 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
28440 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
28441 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
28442 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
28444 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
28445 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{C-M-m}
28446 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
28447 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
28448 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
28449 ``Press @kbd{C-M-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
28450 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
28452 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
28453 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
28454 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
28455 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
28456 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
28462 @subsection Emacs Lisp
28464 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
28465 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
28466 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
28467 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
28469 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
28470 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
28471 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
28472 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
28473 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
28474 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
28475 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
28478 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
28479 write the following:
28482 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
28485 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
28486 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
28487 you can go and fill your @file{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
28490 If you have put that thing in your @file{.emacs} file, it will be read
28491 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
28492 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
28493 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
28494 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
28496 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
28497 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
28498 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
28502 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
28506 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
28509 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
28510 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
28513 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
28516 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
28517 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
28520 @include gnus-faq.texi
28540 @c Local Variables:
28542 @c coding: iso-8859-1
28546 arch-tag: c9fa47e7-78ca-4681-bda9-9fef45d1c819